Gilbert's Dragon Wok reopens three months after tragic crash into its building
GILBERT, Ariz. - A Gilbert restaurant was forced to close down for months after a driver took his own life and crashed his car into the building.
The crash happened near Ray and Cooper roads on May 14 around 10 a.m. Dragon Wok Fine Chinese Restaurant employees were left picking up the pieces after the crash.
Now, three months later, Dragon Wok is back open.
The decades-long owners are opening up about their fight to keep their family business alive.
Gilbert Chinese restaurant picks up the pieces after driver crashes into building
Dragon Wok Fine Chinese Restaurant employees are left picking up the pieces after a car crashed into the business.
It hasn't been an easy journey for Sam and Lola Setzo to reopen their doors. They say it was only possible because the community stepped in to help.
"It’s not the damage to the restaurant," Sam said. "It was more the damage to my family and my heart."
The Setzos opened Dragon Wok 19 years ago, but in May, they were forced to close after a drive drove through their front windows and ended up in the kitchen.
"When he was shut down, we were shut down," said Lisa Power, Dragon Wok customer of 18 years.
Sam paid his employees for as long as he could but didn’t have an opening date and still had a mortgage to pay. The damage was so severe that Sam feared they would never reopen.
"But, I said, I have to make a comeback," Sam said.
"I’ve been coming here 18 or 19 years," said longtime customer Dale Mason.
Power said, "18 years. It was really hard for everybody to see that. They work really hard, and they have the best Chinese food in town."
Now with new windows, new kitchen walls, fresh plumbing, and a remodeled entrance, Dragon Wok’s hustle and bustle is restored.
"First day back, it was amazing. Everyone wants to be the first customer," Sam said.
Lola and Sam couldn’t do it alone. It was their customers made up of contractors, painters, plumbers, and window installers who gave their time to get Dragon Wok back open.
"This is Gilbert, Chandler," Lola said. "Everybody is helping."
Sam says, "I consider them more family, than customers. They say, ‘Hey brother, hey cousin.’ They call me family."
He calls this a new chapter.
"Every day feels like this is a party," Sam said. "I’m living the American dream."
Now, generations of families are coming back. Sam and Lola are at the door welcoming them with open arms.
"Before the kids were born, and look at the kids, they’re all grown up and going to college. Some are two or three generations. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel a little older, but it’s all good," Sam said.
It took longer than hoped for Sam and Lola to reopen, so the two are back to work, serving and cleaning tables. Sam says some of his old employees will be returning soon.
On another positive note, the Gilbert staple will celebrate their 20-year anniversary this year.