Car Crashes Into That Little Mexican Cafe ... Again

For the second time in as many months, a car has crashed into the front of That Little Mexican Cafe at the corner of Bryn Mawr and Winthrop in Edgewater. Owner Porfirio Balderas said a taxi drove into the restaurant earlier this morning causing damage to windows and some exterior tiles on the building, but fortunately no one was hurt. Damage to the space was not extensive and the restaurant will remain open; the windows are being boarded up this morning.

Balderas said that according to police, the taxi driver was heading eastbound on Bryn Mawr and claimed he swerved to avoid a group of people crossing the street toward Starbucks. "He took a right and lost control and hit the building," Balderas said. "The officer believed [the cab driver] was driving too fast and he couldn't control the car."

This is the second car to crash into the restaurant in less than two months. On Nov. 10, a woman lost control of her car as she drove southbound on Winthrop. According to Edgeville Buzz, the driver jumped the sidewalk and drove through sidewalk planters before hitting the restaurant. Balderas said the damage in the first incident was worse as the woman hit numerous windows and caused damage to furniture inside the restaurant.

That Little Mexican Cafe has been open for five years and Balderas said they haven't had issues before this. However, he is talking to the building landlord about adding concrete or another type of blockade to prevent this from happening again. "My biggest concern in the summer is that we have an outdoor patio."

This seems to be happening more frequently as a taxi also drove into Prasino in Wicker Park in early November; a video of that accident emerged earlier this week. Hopefully Mayor Rahm Emanuel's taxi reforms will get passed and prevent future issues.
· Car Crashes into That Little Mexican Cafe [Edgeville Buzz]
· Video of Cab Crashing into Prasino Emerges [~EChi~]
· Rahm Proposes Chicago Taxi Upgrades, Reforms [NBC Chicago]

[Photo: RSJustice/Twitter]