Edgartown Meat and Fish rebuilds

Edgartown Meat and Fish at The Triangle is rebuilding after an SUV drove into the side of the store Monday, and owners hope to have the store up and running by Wednesday. 

The crash occurred just after 6:30 pm, and involved a newly licensed driver, who was not injured. The market was closed at the time, and the building was unoccupied. 

The driver, 33-year-old Violetta Zharov, will be cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, according to Edgartown Police Lt. Chris Dolby. 

According to a police report, Zharov told police she was practicing driving on the day of the incident, and drove to The Triangle to practice parking.

“Violetta said she was attempting to park between the lines when she got nervous and hit the [gas] pedal instead of the brake,” the report states.

The report states that Zharov told police she moved from Boston to Edgartown two months ago. 

Edgartown firefighters backed the vehicle out of the building and it was towed away.

“We are all doing good, the main thing is that no one was hurt,” Sean Ready, co-owner of Edgartown Meat and Fish, said. “Buildings can be repaired, cases can be fixed and replaced, and that’s what we will do.”

Currently, Ready said a team of employees and members of the public are cleaning up the space, and an outpouring of support has made him proud to live in such a tight knit community.

“So many people have reached out and offered to help. From the first responders that showed up so fast the other night, to friends and community members that came to board up the wall and help clean, it’s pretty amazing,” Ready said.

Interestingly, Ready said this isn’t the first time a vehicle entered the store. In 2018, a vehicle crashed into the cafe area of the market while it was serving customers, resulting in injuries and extensive damage.

“It’s strange this is the second time we have had something like this happen. We would prefer people wait outside of the store in their vehicles for us to bring food to them,” Ready joked. 

With a blessing from the building inspector and the board of health, Ready said he is hoping to open up Wednesday.

“We have just been cleaning and preparing. Curbside has been a huge hit, especially for the people that don’t want to get grouped into the masses of grocery stores, people seem to really appreciate it,” Ready said.