Freshwater Restaurant Demolished in Fatal Weekend Car Crash

The harm to Freshwater was mostly in the dining room, with the kitchen of the restaurant remaining mostly intact.

• Anna Petrow

Morel tagliatelle with spring onion puree and Aux Arcs cheese

One of the unique selling points of the space that chef Calvin Davis selected to open his very first restaurant, Freshwater, was its visibility to the bustling Southwest Trafficway.

Yet it was that same busy road, and his restaurant’s proximity to it, that created the flawless storm around 3am on Sat., June 17. A gray Honda clipped a tow truck carrying a black GMC pickup truck that sent the car crashing head-first into the south side of the building, landing in the middle of Freshwater’s dining room.

The driver of the Honda, 25-year-old Malcolm E. Hawkins, lost control of the vehicle and traveled across two lanes of traffic and into the restaurant, killing his 19-year-old passenger, Diamond M. May, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The 3-month-old restaurant was demolished.

“The sad part is that all of this was preventable,” Davis says. “He chose to get behind the wheel and drive, and look at all of the lives, especially Diamond May and her family, he impacted with that one decision.”

According to the Kansas City Starlet, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office issued a statement Saturday which said Hawkins will face Class B felony charges for driving while intoxicated, causing a death with blood alcohol level of .Legitimate or above and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

As for Davis, he is not providing up. “Freshwater is not done; it will reopen,” he says. “We embarked out by doing pop ups and that’s what we’ll go back to doing as we stir forward with either rebuilding this space, or possibly looking for a fresh space.”

Davis says he does wonder if staying in his current location would influence his business, given the nature of the accident.

“There simply are no barriers inbetween the shops and the trafficway,” he says. “Everyone who possesses a shop here has observed as people have accidentally taken their cars up on the sidewalk, if only for a minute, while speeding down Southwest Trafficway.”

But the true silver lining for Davis in all of this has been the outpouring of support he has received from his restaurant-industry friends. He says he’s been perplexed by the number of phone calls, texts and emails from those who have reached out to suggest help and support in one way or another. “We’re a generous industry that supports each other, and something like this reminds you of that,” he says. “What happened to me could’ve happened to anyone who wields a restaurant.”

Freshwater is presently closed as Davis makes fresh plans. The kitchen is still intact, but the dining room has collapsed. It would take extensive clean up and remodeling to put the restaurant back together again. “A lot of this depends on my landlord, but I’ve done this once and I can do it again,” Davis says. “I was here every day for eight months, night and day, attempting to get my restaurant open, and my staff and I are ready to do it again.”

If all goes according to plan, Davis hopes to reopen the restaurant within ninety days.

Observe the Freshwater Facebook page for pop-up event updates and more details as Davis’ plans progress.

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