LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Black-owned grocery store in west Louisville was completely destroyed when pipes burst inside, flooding the place days after a car drove into the building.
From the floor to the ceiling at Black Market KY at 23th and Market streets, significant damages are visible. Police said a man was speeding down East Market Street on Dec. 22 and lost control before hitting the grocery store.
"They hit it so hard that they knocked the refrigerator on its back," said Mitzi Wilson, co-owner of Black Market KY. "I was like, 'Man, I am glad no one was in the store that time of night.'"
Wilson said she received a call followed by a picture of a car halfway inside the building.
"I got to thinking, 'God, please be with the person that was driving,'" she said.
Police said the driver was cited on scene and is expected to be OK. But just when Wilson thought she saw it all, days later, the devastation continued.
"As I was about to open the glass door, my friend was like, 'Don’t tell me it's the water,'" Wilson said. "We got in here, and it was like somebody turned on the fire hydrant."
A busted pipe flooded the market. Wilson said the store's mission is to combat food injustice in west Louisville and support community members like Latoya Ray, who walks eight blocks to get fresh food.
"It is a little bit harder for people that aren't mobile like me that have to carry my groceries," Ray said Wednesday. "There aren't many grocery stores around here, but since they have this store, I think it's best that they are right here for us as a community."
The market plans to reopen in 2023 and will continue to deliver groceries and allow online shopping for customers. And as Wilson and her team pick up the pieces, she said she's asking for the community's support.
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