West Allis coffee shop reopens 15 months after a driver crashes into their building

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS58) -- West Allis coffee shop and bakery Elevate Coffee & Piece of Love Bakery reopened on Wednesday, June 11, over a year after a driver crashed into the small business.

Surveillance video from 3 AM on January 3, 2024, showed Ana Gonzalez's dreams come to a halt when a driver crashed into her building and Anthony's Appliances. "What do I do now? I’ve never been through this" said Gonzalez, owner of Elevate Coffee & Piece of Love Bakery.

"It was devastating because I was working to do that since 2018," said Gonzalez. What made it even more difficult was seeing her savings and hard work disappear, while her employees were out of work. She said the driver didn't just crash into the building but also her dreams.

About $300,000 and 15 months later though, Elevate Coffee had its soft re-opening to a constant crowd of support. "Just seeing how much people love what we do and get support, we ask for help, and people say they can come and help you. Seeing what we do makes them happy, that’s our spark, and we want to continue," shared Gonzalez. She thanked the community for helping her through the difficulties, particularly Chef Shane Rowe Sr. of Bishop Bakery who asked his customers following the crash to support Gonzalez's business instead of his.

Elevate Coffee & Piece of Love Bakery offers Mexican-inspired drinks, food, and baked goods.

Alongside coffee, Gonzalez is serving up inspiration for those around her. Adrian Hernandez, Mercado MKE manager, said he'd visit the shop before it had to close. He was there on its reopening and said, "many businesses in that situation may have just closed shop. Ana is very resilient, and to see how she’s almost reinvented herself in a way, I think a lot of us can learn from it in the business side and the life side as well."

Sunday will be the grand reopening, from 9 AM to 3 PM. You can find the shop at 6768 W Lincoln Ave, West Allis.