Bad luck continues at Monk’s Cafe

    Two Augusts in a row, a strange accident strikes the bar known for Belgian beers.

    After a night of drinking you might feel like you’ve been hit by a bus. Monday night a downtown Philadelphia bar really did get hit. A SEPTA bus lost control after colliding with a Delaware River Port Authority car at 16th and Spruce Streets, plowing through the wall of Monks Cafe, a popular Belgian beer bar. Disaster is no stranger to Monks.

    There used to be a street door opening to a short hallway that led to the front room at Monks. All that’s left of that hallway is a pile of bricks. There were about 20 people in the bar at the time, luckily none were hurt. In August 2009, a young man fell to his death when a second-floor balcony railing of the apartment above the bar gave way.

    Owner Tom Peters says after the bus crash last night he had to convince the patrons in the back that they should evacuate the building.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    “The people at the back bar had no idea anything happened. The building didn’t shake, and they couldn’t hear it. That makes me feel good about the integrity of the building.”

    Peters is confident he will be open for business again in under two weeks. The two disasters are unrelated – last year there was a structural problem, this year it was a freak accident. But for those prone to superstition, consider this: every year Peters abstains from alcohol for one month. Guess which month…that’s right, August.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal