Montreal restaurant forced to close after driver crashes into building

With the holidays fast approaching, one Montreal restaurant was forced to close its doors after a driver crashed into it on the weekend.

Saturday at 3:30 a.m., Montreal police (SPVM) said a driver crashed straight into Restaurant Thaïlande on Bernard Street in the Mile End district.

"Was it bad luck or whatever that happened to me?" asked restaurant co-owner Tom Mecksavanh. "I cannot believe it."

A man was later arrested for drunk driving.

He suffered minor wounds, but there were no other reported injuries from the crash.

The building, however, sustained extensive damage.

"The employees, they need to have income too," said Mecksavanh. "If we close too long, they are going to go away, so it's difficult for us too. We try to open as soon as possible."

According to Maximilien Roy, vice president of Restaurants Canada, the closure couldn't come at a worse time.

He explained the holiday season can account for up to 25 per cent of annual sales for restaurants.

"For many operators, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year," he said. "That's when they actually make or break any profit in the year."

In addition, numbers tend to fall by January.

"It really feels like the crossing of the desert, where you actually have less consumers going out to the restaurant," said Roy, noting that this could be due to extravagant holiday spending or New Year's resolutions to consume less.

From a full house to empty tables this December, Mecksavanh says the hope now is to be able to reopen in time for the restaurant's 30th anniversary.

"We opened 1995 for Valentine's Day," he recalled.