Quick Repairs After A Car Crashed Into A NoVA Restaurant Allowed It To Reopen

Updated at 5:40 p.m.

HERNDON, VA — Virginia Kitchen in Herndon was packed with the usual lunchtime crowd Thursday, when a woman drove her Toyota Camry into the side of the restaurant.

“All the customers were great,” said Julie Krueger, who owns the popular Elden Street diner with her husband, Linc. “Everybody was calm and cool, because it was kind of like, ‘What just happened?’ Right? We all just heard this crash. The restaurant was pretty full, so we immediately went over to where the car had come through the window to make sure everybody was OK."

Krueger then called 911 and, because she didn't know if there was any structure damage, she evacuated the building.

“Everybody was lending a helping hand and the fire department, the EMTs, the police, they were all here, lickety split, talking to everybody, making sure everybody was OK," she said.

No one in the restaurant, or the woman who had been driving the Toyota, were injured, according to Krueger.

“What we think happened is that a woman was exiting the shopping plaza here, and she lost control of the car,” Krueger said. “Her car hopped up over the median and into the side of the building.”

The crash forced Virginia Kitchen to close for the rest of the day, but the good news was the restoration team was already making repairs a couple of hours later. Krueger said the diner would be open for business as usual at 8 a.m. on Friday.

“It is a blessing no one was injured,” she said. “I think it probably looks a lot worse than it is. We're going to be excited to be open for business tomorrow.”

Herndon Police cited the Toyota driver for reckless driving and one person who was sitting in a booth near the crash was taken to the hospital to be evaluated, according to an HPD spokeswoman.

Krueger’s father, John Andrews, started Virginia Kitchen in 1973, with 13 restaurants in operation from West Virginia down to South Carolina. The Elden Street diner opened in 1981.

“He loved Herndon so much,” Krueger said. “True story, he had one in Herndon and one in Fairfax. When he decided to divest his restaurant business, he kept the one in Herndon.”