PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly’s oldest Ethiopian restaurant, Abyssinia, at the corner of 45th and Locust streets, has seen a lot in its 41 years of dishing out Ethiopian classics like doro wat and beef tibs, but never has a car ever come crashing through its front door like one did Tuesday afternoon.
“Somebody ran into the place, hit four to five cars, and then ran into the building,” said Tedla Abraham, who has owned the West Philly restaurant since 1994.
When he landed on a return flight from Denver that afternoon, his phone flooded with messages and calls about the crash.
“All the community was here. They’re texting, they called emergency, they put it on Facebook, Instagram,” he said. “They were worried.”
Abraham wasn’t worried about the damage. “I was worried because what if somebody’s hurt?”
Fortunately, no one was. Even though Abraham is waiting on an insurance quote, Abyssinia is open.
“Only the front door is closed, but it’s the same service,” he said.
The neighborhood came out in force to support Abyssinia. Yvonne, who owns Soul Greedy next door, said Abyssinia leads a sense of community on the block.
“When we first had our grand opening, they were really welcoming,” she said. “They came over, they introduced themselves. They would come over and buy stuff. It’s support; everyone is pleasant. It’s a nice area to have a restaurant, that’s for sure.”