Lieber’s Luggage Carries On

A plumbing company van plowed through the Lieber’s storefront at 6515 Menaul NE on January 21, causing what co-owner Frank Fine estimates is hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and injuring three of the five employees who were working at the time.

As we reported last week, the van driver was uninjured but was believed to have had some kind of medical episode.

One store employee emerged with minor injuries while another two sustained what Fine called “pretty significant leg injuries,” though no broken bones.

Lieber’s was closed for the next five days as staff worked to salvage stock and clean the premises.

“We had every able-bodied person in the store as well as some hired people cleaning up,” said Fine, who owns the store with his wife Leslee Richards. “The debris was just immense.”

A plumbing van crashed into Lieber’s Luggage last week. (Dean Hanson/Journal)

Fine said almost all the store’s fixtures were destroyed and that the building will need new flooring and new ceiling tiles.

“We’re confident that our insurance is going to cover a lot. It doesn’t cover the trouble or, most important, the pain and suffering for the employees who were injured,” he said.

The store reopened with a makeshift set up on January 26, though it has been closing earlier than usual due to its loss of manpower.

“It will probably take three months to get completely rebuilt, but we’re open for business,” Fine said.