The Junction Diner, 7401 Madison St., was back in business after a one-day closing yesterday.
“We’re open today,” owner Brad Wahl said on Thursday, May 4. “We’re back up and running.”
One of his employees, Juan Diaz, a 28-year-old chef, was killed in the early morning May 3 in an accident on Roosevelt Road in Oak Park, Wahl said.
“He was a great employee,” Wahl said. “He really was.”
Diaz’s mother and friend are also on the kitchen staff and have not been back to work, Wahl said. For now, the restaurant, which opened in 2012, is working through the challenge. Wahl said he re-hired an old employee and is actively looking to find a few more.
As reported by Wednesday Journal, Oak Park police are investigating the May 3 crash at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Cuyler Avenue that killed Diaz, who was riding a motorcycle west on Roosevelt and reportedly hit a car turning east on Roosevelt from Cuyler Avenue. The car’s driver, a 41-year-old man who was not injured in the crash, reportedly failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection.
