Car crash forces Hinckley’s Coffee & Donuts to renovate

by Melissa Martin

Hinckley’s Coffee & Donuts will likely remain closed for several more weeks following a two-vehicle accident that sent a GMC Denali crashing through the shop’s front window June 24.

Tom Vanover, who co-owns the building at the corner of Center and Ridge roads with longtime Hinckley resident Karl Kastl III, said the northernmost end of the landmark structure sustained a “significant” amount of damage as a result of the incident.

“We worked hard initially to find stop-gap measures that would have allowed us to reopen the doughnut shop sooner rather than later, but given the condition of the space and the resources available, that just wasn’t going to happen,’’ Vanover said. “We decided against just patching it together in order to get it back open.’’

Hinckley’s Coffee & Donuts has been closed since June 24 after a two-car accident resulted in a GMC Denali crashing through the front of the building. Owners of the building says it could still be several more weeks before the shop is able to reopen. Photos provided by Hinckley Fire Dept.

According to the Hinckley Fire Department, the crash occurred just after 11 a.m., and one person was transported from the scene with minor injuries. Six people, two adults and four children, were riding in the Denali.

In addition to Hinckley, the Richfield, Granger and Brunswick fire departments responded to the scene, as did the Medina County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Thankfully, Vanover said, nobody was in the doughnut shop at the time.

“The last customer, who happens to be a regular and shows up at the same time every morning, had just left with her coffee and doughnut around 11:10 a.m., and the girl who was working that day was taking the trash out to the dumpster in the back when it happened,” he said.

Had the Denali crashed two feet south of where it did, it would have struck the building’s main support, potentially causing the structure’s collapse and additional injuries to those inside the vehicle, Vanover said.

Owners of Binky Commons say the structural damage to the doughnut shop was extensive, resulting in damage to the floor, ceiling and support beams, as well as the front of the building.

“For years now, there’s been a framed newspaper article hanging on the wall of the shop with a headline that read, ‘In God We Trust,’” he said. “Following the crash, that article was hanging from the ceiling. Makes you think.”

Moving forward

Vanover said he and Kastl, who purchased the building in 2019, are now working with a team of contractors as well as representatives from the Medina County Building Department, Hinckley Township and the insurance company, to evaluate the structural damage to the 90-year-old building before making renovations. As he and Kastl planned a full facelift of the shop’s interior anyway, Vanover said they have decided to remodel before reopening.

“As it turns out, when they built (the doughnut shop) in the1940s, they did not plan for a two-ton motor vehicle to be parked inside. What were they thinking?” Vanover joked. “Unfortunately, there’s so much more work that needs to be done here than just replacing the front window.”

Vanover said regular customers have been stopping by the shop almost daily to ask when they can make their morning pit stop. As of press time, a reopening date had not been set.

“The floor is broken, the front wall was knocked down, the counter was split in half – there’s quite a bit of work to be redone here,” he said. “But Karl and I see us as stewards of the building, and it is our position to “give the building back to the community in better condition than it was prior to the accident.”

Vanover said the redesign will make the space more functional and give it a more modern look and feel.

“Before you know it,’’ he said, “we will have it back open to that same space you stopped every morning to see your neighbors, get your coffee and start your day.’’ ∞