Cars plow into Long Beach storefront twice in 2 months, business begs for safety measures

2nd car plows into Long Beach business

The owners of Magnolia and Willow are frustrated after the second car in as many months recently plowed through the storefront. The owners say this has been a consistent problem for years at their intersection and are calling for the city to step in.

LONG BEACH, Calif. - A Long Beach business owner is pleading for help from the city, after their storefront has been crashed into twice in two months — an issue they say they've dealt with for years.

Magnolia and Willow is an antique store owned and operated by a husband and wife couple at the intersection of W. Willow Street and Magnolia Avenue. Over the last two months, the storefront has been driven into twice — once on July 4, and the latest on Sept. 2.

The crashes have cost the business thousands of dollars in damage, and countless more in lost business. Store owner Emily Yep said crashes at the intersection have been a constant problem for years. She's contacted the city of Long Beach multiple times since 2017. According to Yep, the city said that it's been conducting traffic studies at the intersection, but with these most recent crashes, she says that's no longer enough.

"My plea with them is to put in temporary barriers at the very least to stop cars from coming onto the sidewalk and hurting a pedestrian or further going into my store again. And I would like permanently barriers put in," Yep said. "We just don't want someone we love being permanently injured or dying."

The two latest crashes have forced Magnolia and Willow to board up the storefront, with a tongue in cheek message spray-painted on the plywood — "Just a friendly reminder… We don't offer a drive-thru shopping experience. We are open."

Yep said she's reached out to the city and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson after the most recent crashes, pleading for barriers to be put in, but she has not heard back. FOX 11 has also reached out to the city and the Mayor and have not heard back. Another local business heard about Yep's struggles with traffic in the area, and has offered to put in barriers for her for free, but Yep would still need permission from the city in order for that to happen.

The store remains open during repairs.