Byrnes Irish Pub in Brunswick reopened for brunch Wednesday after closing for repairs Sunday night when a car ran into the building. Darcie Moore / The Times Record
BRUNSWICK — Byrnes Irish Pub reopened for brunch Wednesday after closing for repairs Sunday night when a car ran into the restaurant.
According to police, Carol Dube, 90, of Brunswick was backing out of a parking space and hit a 2018 Nissan Rogue driven by 88-year-old Odile Mayo of Brunswick. She put the car into drive and ran into the doorway of Byrnes Irish Pub. No one was hurt, including the people in the restaurant at the time of the crash, which happened shortly before 6 p.m.
Brunswick Police Cmdr. Tom Garrepy said he doesn’t expect Mayo will be charged.
Patrick Byrnes, the owner of Byrnes Irish Pub, said Servepro of Bath/Brunswick began removing the damaged portion of the building and constructing a new wall and temporary door on Monday.
“It will look a little ugly on the front for another week and two until can get new windows and doors in,” he said.
He hasn’t calculated the total costs of the damage but estimates it will be in the tens of thousands. Byrnes leases the space at 16 Station Ave. from JHR Development and both have insurance policies on the building which helped get the repairs started quickly. He expects those two insurance companies will bill the driver’s insurance company after the work is done.
Byrnes said the restaurant will lose business being closed New Year’s Eve but the insurance will help cover that loss that as well. A New Year’s Eve on a Tuesday is not as busy as one that falls on a Friday.
Of all the holidays, “New Year’s is the one to lose,” he said.
Byrnes Irish Pub was open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day and is returning to normal hours on Thursday.
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