'Hit Pretty Hard': Salem Bar Picks Up Pieces After Car Smashes Building

SALEM, MA — Adam Drohan said his first thought when he arrived at Sidelines Sports Bar & Grill last Friday morning — and found a white Honda sedan had smashed through the front entrance of the restaurant and traveled across the dining area all the way into the bar — was concern about whether the driver was OK and if the cleaning crew had cleared out before the crash.

"Seeing the car through the wall is something you would never expect to see," he said. "Then, after that, my thought was that: '(expletive) we have a lot of work to do.'"

That work got underway immediately with Drohan telling Patch on Tuesday that he hopes to be closed for just a few weeks to a month before a hopeful reopening in time for the busiest time of year in Halloween's unofficial hometown.

In the meantime, he is asking patrons looking to help him and his staff out to head over to the sister establishment at Paddy Kelly's on Washington Street. The hours there are being extended to open for lunch at 11 a.m. daily with half-priced specials to provide hours and an income for Sidelines employees who are otherwise on the bench as long as the Canal Street location is on the inactive list.

"The staff had pretty similar feelings to me," he said. "They wanted to make sure everyone was OK first. Then they were just sad that they were going to be out of work. It's about to be football season, tourist season, back-to-school, then Halloween.

"All of that hit pretty hard because this was going to be their busy season."

He said the intention is to have a couple of outdoor events at Sidelines during the renovations but that in the meantime there will be the half-priced sandwiches and appetizers at Paddy Kelly's where some of the staff will relocate during the rest of August and September. Paddy Kelly's previously opened at 3 p.m. each day with the hours being pushed up to 11 a.m. on the temporary basis.

"We're extending the hours at Paddy's to give these people something," he said. "We had fantasy football drafts booked, all kinds of events, so we're trying to reschedule those (at Paddy Kelly's)."

Despite the sinking feeling that came with the first sight of the splintered entrance and now-slanted bar, Drohan said he and his staff are trying to keep things a bit lighter for themselves and their dedicated customers with a series of social media posts on Facebook and Instagram adding a touch of levity to the whole situation.

"We've got a bunch more videos and more fun stuff to put out," he said. "We are trying to put up jokes and stuff to keep things as fun as we can."

He said to follow Sidelines on Facebook here or Instagram here for the amusing content as well as updates on when the restaurant and bar will reopen to the public.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)