Car crashes through wall of The Grove restaurant in Winnipeg

When a car crashed through the wall of The Grove Pub and Restaurant Tuesday night, it was another hit in a two-year span that has had its share of impacts on Miles Gould's business.

"Mostly still in a state of disbelief," Gould said about the crash, via text message on Wednesday.

"Not really sure what will come next but basically we just have to continue to once again roll with the punches and hope we can get through this."

Around 11:45 p.m. a car slammed into the corner of The Grove, at the corner of Stafford Street and Grosvenor Avenue.

The impact was so hard that tables and chairs inside the building were spilled across the floor with shards of broken glass and the twisted metal frame from the window and door.

The passenger front corner of the car ended up inside the dining room while sections of the exterior wall crumbled.

No one was inside the restaurant at the time "thank goodness," said Gould.

Winnipeg police said the driver was also unhurt and that no other vehicles were involved. Police had no information on what led to the crash and said alcohol does not seem to be a factor.

For Gould, it's another chapter in a pandemic that has seen his restaurant closed for stretches due to restriction, then reopen before closing again.

Two other restaurants he owned — Cornerstone Bar and Restaurant at the corner of Osborne Street and River Avenue, and The Black Bird Brasserie on Tache Avenue — were completely shut down earlier in the pandemic and have since gone out of business.

"They never would have survived another close down after the first one. Never mind two more on top of that," Gould said.

"It was a very tough decision however it has proven to be the right one in the long run. The amount of money required to get a restaurant up and running again after being shut down is astronomical. Once you take out loans to make that happen and then have to close again you could wind up losing everything."

Gould said he knows of a number of other restaurants that must be walking that tightrope

"Closing down, reduced capacity, reduced hours … have taken their continuous toll. The government, all levels, need to do more for these small businesses or there will be a large number of vacant restaurants in the near future," he said.

Just hours before Tuesday's crash, Gould stood near that same spot that is now boarded up, talking to CBC News about his decision to temporarily close the business again as cases surge in the province and new health restrictions take effect.

Although restaurants are allowed to remain open, with certain limitations, Gould and other restaurateurs say they have decided, for the safety of their staff and patrons, to lock the doors and try to ride out the current wave.

"It's a tightrope and it's a hard decision to make on the one hand because I know people still have to pay their bills. On the other hand it was easy because we care about the safety of everyone," Gould said on Tuesday.