What Canisteo community is doing for Annie's Restaurant after car wrecks side of building
Annie’s Restaurant is always willing to lend a helping hand for community causes in the Village of Canisteo.
This week, though, the roles have been reversed.
The Canisteo Valley has come to the restaurant’s aid with a flurry of donations and ice cream sales after a motorist struck the building at the corner of Greenwood and Main shortly after midnight Monday.
The impact destroyed a large section on the side of the brick building, taking out several windows and leaving the interior exposed to the elements. A 29-year-old Hornell man was charged with DWI by State Police after the crash. Annie’s lost everything in a cooler near the impact area, and other equipment was also damaged.
Politics: GOP picks Canisteo's Sempolinski to run for rest of Reed's term in NY congressional special election
Want to bring an old barn to life? Here's how to get NY's help in paying for restoration
March for Our Lives: Students, teachers join nationwide push for change at Wellsville rally
While the restaurant was forced to put a pause on its full menu, it has reopened for ice cream sales out of an undamaged section of the building. Customers made Tuesday one of the restaurant’s busiest days.
“Yesterday we opened for ice cream and they were pretty much lined up all day long,” said owner Annie Osterwald. “Today classes from the school have been here and the kids are so excited that we’re still able to serve ice cream.
"We’re humbled from all the support by the community. It’s quite incredible. Other businesses have reached out to us as well from surrounding communities, not just Canisteo. It has been pretty overwhelming.”
A patron, Sam Lehman, also started a fundraiser to offset damages to the restaurant.
“Not because she asked, but because she donates every single time anyone has fundraisers, we're collecting donations for Annie and Tom during their ‘down time’ during construction,” said Lehman. “The amount of times I've seen Annie donate is literally impossible to count for all of Canisteo in general.”
Annie’s opened on May 1, 2017 and recently marked its five-year anniversary in Canisteo. The business has grown to 10 employees and also caters events around the area on weekends, with a full calendar scheduled throughout the summer. The Canisteo Legion and the Canisteo Wesleyan Church both offered up their kitchen space to allow the restaurant to continue its catering service.
“I was very nervous about losing all of that, but they’ve offered their kitchens for me and we’re in the process of getting a permit to do so, so I won’t have to cancel any events,” said Osterwald. “That’s a big relief, for sure.”
Osterwald plans to fully reopen the restaurant whenever repairs are complete. While that timeline is uncertain, Annie’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. serving ice cream for the next few weeks.
“I don’t know for sure yet when it will be, but I do have faith the repairs will be quick,” said Osterwald.
Chris Potter can be reached at cpotter@gannett.com or on Twitter @ChrisPotter413. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Canisteo rallies around Annie's Restaurant after car hits building
