Business & Tech

Sneaker Town: Business As Usual Since Cab Crash

Owners say stores remains open during construction.

One week following a taxicab crashing through his shop, a Roxborough storeowner said business was returning to normal.

Standing inside Sneaker Town on Ridge Avenue, Joe Son said Thursday that though business was originally slow, everything is OK—considering a taxi demolished his storefront Feb. 9.

The cab, turning from Leverington Avenue onto Ridge Avenue, struck a pedestrian and crashed through the store, according to NewsWorks. No one was seriously injured, but Son lost his window and some merchandise in the exchange. Contractors raced to the scene and boarded up the facade. 

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Originally, Son wanted to open up that Friday, but things didn't work out.

"Most people thought we were closed, because it was boarded up," he said, adding with a laugh that the plywood door didn't help.

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Instead the store reopened Feb. 11—two days after the crash—when contractors installed a regular door at the scene.

Son has owned Sneaker Town for several years and said it’s mostly uneventful. "This really is the only interesting thing that's happened to us... It's our two minutes of fame I guess," he said, adding he has the news video on his iPhone.

The store will commemorate its brush with fame by compiling a collage of accident photos that people can add to and hang in the shop.

He thinks customers are leery of entering, but the interior is back to normal. The contractors insulated the shop well, and Son is hanging coats on his temporary wall.

"It does affect the business, obviously, but we're still here. We're open."

The shop will remain open during the exterior construction. He estimated the new storefront will be completed in three to four weeks.


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