Charlie Wong restaurant in Evergreen reopened Jan. 13, six months after the dining room was heavily damaged in a car accident.

The family-owned-and-operated restaurant, which makes most of its international cuisine in-house, had been open since 1996 prior to the accident.

On July 12, 2019, at about 2 a.m., a driver on U.S. 2 reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and ran into a truck, which subsequently plowed into the main dining room of the popular Evergreen restaurant.

There were no major injuries, and there was reportedly no drugs or alcohol involved in the accident. Both drivers were apparently able to walk away from the wreck, and the truck driver was even able to drive his vehicle home after it was towed out of the debris. But the restaurant sustained such damage that the establishment had to close for half a year to do repairs.

“It was a scary wake-up call,” said Huong Channita, the daughter of restaurant owners Charlie and Elaine Trinh. She remembered most of the family, which also runs Charlie Wong Saigon Garden in South Kalispell, was getting ready for bed when they got a call about the accident.

None of the employees were at the restaurant at the time of the crash, which Channita said was especially fortunate since her young children, nieces and nephews are often in the dining room while their parents are working.

“Thank goodness nobody was there,” she said. “Things ended up working out fine.”

But although there were no injuries, the unexpected incident nonetheless put a dent in the family’s business. At the same time as Charlie Wong had to close due to the damage, Channita’s brother, Thomas Trinh, was in the process of opening his own restaurant, Pho 888, in North Kalispell with the help of his family.

Channita said this confluence of events added to the family’s stress as they struggled to find contractors, supplies and materials to fix their building and support the family’s businesses.

During the six months while Charlie Wong was closed, Channita said the family directed most of their energy into Saigon Garden. She said it was a “great learning experience,” but the renovations did take “a little longer than anticipated.”

In addition to fixing the building, the Charlie Wong team had to hire and train almost an entirely new staff after being closed for six months. “We were closed for so long,” Channita said.

They also had to slightly raise some of their prices to account for their new operational costs due to the reconstruction.

FloodCo. finished restoring the building, including an all-new interior, on Jan. 5. The restaurant reopened a week later, but manager Elaine hesitated to publicize the opening since she was concerned about being inundated with eager customers.

Throughout the closure, loyal customers continually drove by the restaurant, visited Saigon Garden and even stopped contractors at gas stations to ask about the progress. Channita said the contractors told her, “I didn’t realize how much of a following you have.”

“We’re very thankful for our loyal followers,” Channita emphasized. “It’s sweet to see the community hasn’t forgotten about us.”

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.