SPRING BRANCH, Texas — A Spring Branch community is helping a local coffee shop get back up and running after a car crashed into the business during a police chase.
The chase happened Friday afternoon. It started on Gessner Road near Clay Road before a man driving a stolen vehicle jumped a curb on Hammerly Boulevard and crashed into Cambrian Coffee.
Co-owner Brian Hinkle and his wife Gemma were at home when they got a notification on their Ring alarm system. Hinkle said his wife was in shock when she opened the alert.
“Immediately my thought was, 'Is the driver okay? Was anyone else around?'" said co-owner Brian Hinkle. "Luckily we were closed. If not it would’ve been horrible."
Hinkle posted the damage to the shop's Facebook page saying he was gutted and the shop was closed until further notice, but since sharing the news, the community has stepped up to make sure Cambrian Coffee's front doors don't stay boarded up for long.
“We had hundreds of messages from our good customers," Hinkle said. "Everyone wanted to pick up a broom and come down."
Brian Smith, a longtime customer and friend of the owners set up a GoFundMe account to help cover the cost of damages. So far, more than $17,000 has been raised in just a few days.
“They’re local," Smith said. "They live in the neighborhood. We see them shopping at HEB and felt like if there’s anybody that deserves the support of this neighborhood, and to show them our love, it’s them."
It’s a big help for this small coffee shop which said it can’t wait to open its doors again.
“We see [customers] every day for their coffee," Hinkle said. "We’re missing that connection massively. We love our customers who are friends. We knew they appreciated us, but it was humbling getting the messages we got."
Cambrian Coffee hopes to reopen its store in a few weeks.
The driver who crashed into the shop suffered minor injuries and was arrested.