At the start of this week, I noticed that there was this long yellow cloth-like material covering the front of Papaye Restaurant on the Oxford Street. Initially, I noticed that the chairs in the waiting area (where people wait for their take out orders) had been moved around. Later, I noticed that the chairs were back to their regular positions and everything seemed to be in order except for the yellow cloth-like material, which remained. At first I thought there was some cleaning going on in the restaurant, but when the cloth-like material remained beyond a day, I figured there must be some construction work going on.
Yesterday after work, I went into Papaye Restaurant to get some take out, and what I saw made me kinda want to run out (especially after the incident at Melcom). The cloth-like material is actually covering an empty space, which used to be occupied by glass windows, and most of the remaining glass in the front (including the glass doors) are cracked. I honestly felt there was a structural problem with the building and it could fall on all of us inside at any time. No one inside seemed as intrigued by the cracked glass as I was. I was in the restaurant with a friend and we sat there trying to figure out what happened. We went from mini earth quake, which had only affected Papaye, to structural issues with the building. Business was going on as usual and no one seemed one bit scared. That got me really curious (probably one of the reasons I didn't run out).
When my order was ready, my friend and I walked out still assessing the extent of the damage, and I kept wondering why the building hadn't been shut down by the appropriate authorities, and why Papaye was still operating when their building was obviously faulty. As we were leaving, my friend suggested we talk to one of the security guards outside to find out what exactly happened. You won't believe it!
Turns out a drunken driver drove into the restaurant one night causing all that damage (he actually drove right inside. what was he on?). Fortunately, it was after the working hours of the restaurant, so there were no customers inside when the accident happened.
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| The yellow fabric covers a space that was once occupied by glass |
Aside seeing first hand what alcohol can cause, I also learnt not to speculate, and just ask questions when in doubt. In my opinion though, I think Papaye should definitely sue the guy for damages (that's if he's not already paying to repair the building) and shut down for at least a week to fix whatever damage was caused (looking at the building from inside is scary).
I took the picture above this morning (I always pass in front of the restaurant on my way to work). I decided this morning to get the picture and I had no idea it would be as difficult as it turned out. I really want a picture of the inside too but I have a feeling that would be pushing it. Some part of the cracked glass inside has sellotape on it. I want a picture of that (seriously Papaye, what were you thinking? tape is going to hold the crack if it's going to fall apart?).
I got in front of the restaurant this morning and there was a security guy there. I didn't want it to look too obvious that I was taking a picture so I drove while trying to snap away. Unfortunately, there is no traffic on the Oxford Street in the mornings. My first attempt produced a picture of somewhere I'm not too sure of (probably the shops next to Papaye). So, I went down the road beside the restaurant, took a right and came out at the junction next to Arlecchino Italian Ice Cream, and then back onto the Oxford Street.
My second attempt produced a picture of the billboard of Papaye, so I went down the road beside the restaurant and took a left this time around. I ended up coming out at the junction opposite the Ecobank (that means I drove illegally on a one way street. fortunately, there were no police officers in sight). I got onto the Oxford Street again and approached Papaye from the opposite side of the road, and thankfully, there was a bus in front of me that was in no hurry. I drove slowly, got my picture, made a U-turn at the ADB Bank parking lot, passed in front of Papaye again, and then headed on to work.
Mind you, at my first attempt, it was 10 minutes to 8am. When I was done, it was exactly 8am. I could just see the look on my boss's face when I said "I'm late to work because I needed a picture for this blog post and I had to drive around in circles to get it" (would have been priceless if you ask me). Thank heavens it didn't come to that. I got to work 10 minutes after 8am.
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