Hallie and Jason Alfonso were playing with their kids at a park when they got the call that a U-Haul truck had crashed through the wall of their restaurant.
“We were open for business at that time,” Hallie Alfonso said of the , which occurred around 4 p.m. at the Alfonsos’ American-style tapas eatery, Ollie & Park’s, in the Uptown area of North Capitol Hill. The restaurant is named after their children, Oliver and Parker.
“Thank God no one was hurt,” she said.
It’s not the only shocking accident that has hit the restaurateurs this year. On Monday, Feb. 16, Denver firefighters responded to a call at their other business, Odyssey Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar, at 603 E. 6th Ave. in Denver. Employees and witnesses reported a fire in the 111-year-old Victorian building during service, although all customers and employees also got out safely.
The Alfonsos believe the the fire may have started in the alley, by the kitchen’s exhaust fan, then worked its way into the building, they said at the time.
Sunday’s accident was an even bigger shock, Hallie said. The U-Haul driver had apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed through Ollie & Park’s west-facing wall along Park Avenue, hitting a support pillar for the apartments above and demolishing the bar of the restaurant, at 1210 E. 17th Ave., in Denver.
Fortunately, the bartender was attending to tables at the time and none of the customers were hurt, despite the truck making its way about 10 feet into the restaurant. The bartenders typically spend the majority of their time behind the bar, Hallie said.
“They were clearly upset about what happened, but no one was injured,” she said Wednesday. “I’m here right now just trying to clean up.”
The cause of the accident has not been determined by investigators, the Alfonsos expect to receive a Denver Police Department report in the next few days. They estimated that repair costs could exceed $100,000, but that more assessments are needed for a final number.
While the Alfonsos expect to reopen the new and improved Odyssey in three to four weeks, Ollie & Park’s is going to take more time. Odyssey will turn 14 this year, but Ollie & Park’s only opened in 2024.
“We’ve never experienced anything like this before,” she said. “Ollie & Park’s is going to be open, whether or not we rebrand. We were working very diligently on fully reopening Odyssey, and this just kind of throws a wrench in things. But we will get there.”
