They wanted ice in their cocktails — not hurling at their faces!
A speeding city-operated snow plow slammed a mountain of ice into restaurant-goers enjoying “Thirsty Thursday” at a popular restaurant in Queens — shattering windows, injuring customers and causing $50,000 of damage, stunning surveillance tapes and owners reveal.
Margarita night at Exo Café in Forest Hills became a meltdown after the plow driver crashed into an snow bank at roughly 50 miles an hour, launching icy debris into the taco-and- burger joint on Austin Street near 70th Road on Thursday night, said owner Peter Kambitsis.
“I’m at a loss for words, every time I watch the video I get more upset,” Kambitsis told The Post.
“The plow came at tremendous speed, picking up huge chunks of ice and debris along with the snow, launching all of it through the vestibule in the front,” he said.
Many of the customers were enjoying the restaurant’s $15-per-pitcher margarita and mojito deal night – an event that sometimes generates lines, right where the plow struck, Kambitis said.
“ The vestibule is usually packed with people waiting for tables, and they would have been cut in half! Thank god the bad weather kept people home. There would have been a lot more people seriously hurt,” Kambitis said.
The Department of Sanitation “conducted an investigation… and is taking disciplinary action against the operators of the equipment,” agency chief Keith Mellis said.
Kambitsis must now replace nine broken window panes, locks and an awning, he said.
“I can’t close any of the glass doors along the front, they’re just taped shut now. The vestibule is shredded, the awnings were ripped out of the wall, menu box is broken, the hinges on the doors are all bent, 3 security cameras destroyed, the list goes on and on,” he said.
The plow also left an eight-foot-high trail of melted snow-and-mud splatter on buildings along the block.
Exo Café serves brunch, lunch and dinner, including dishes such as veggie omelets and Kobe beef sliders, its website states.