Summary

In an interview with Collider, Chelsea and Cole DeBoer reflect on the car that crashed into their SD store, but no injuries occurred, leading to a quick repair and grand opening.

Chelsea’s design talent helped pivot the damaged storefront, allowing for repairs and a successful store opening.

Despite setbacks, viewers witnessed the determined couple and staff pull off the grand opening on the show Down Home Fab.

Down Home Fab Season 3 premiered with a bang – or a crash – when a car suddenly careened into Chelsea and Cole DeBoer’s flagship store, Down Home by DeBoers, leaving a gaping hole in the Sioux Falls, S.D., storefront weeks before opening day.
Producers captured the shocking moment of the unsuspecting couple receiving the call from frazzled store employees of the accident. Chelsea and Cole are seen immediately rushing to the scene to see a vehicle perched partially through the glass storefront, building pieces strewn throughout the scene.
So what happened and how did someone drive through the DeBoer’s storefront? “I think it was a case of hitting the gas instead of the brake,” Chelsea tells Collider. “This poor woman felt awful, and I mean, accidents happen. And it was a complete accident and nobody was hurt, and so we’re just grateful, and I mean it was just wild. All the things that were happening at once, I was like, what is going on?” The local fire chief evaluated the driver and said no medical issues were involved.
The DeBoers were shaken, but so were the employees who witnessed the accident firsthand. One employee told local news station KELO the crash sounded “like a train” and it was so dramatic that people from other businesses in the strip mall went outside to witness the damage.
Employees and the driver were not injured, but the couple faced a looming deadline and a hole in the front of their store. “Be ready to pivot at all times,” Cole quipped, because once they knew no one was hurt, they had to quickly assess the damage, determine the best way forward and hope they could still open the store by the deadline.
How did they get the store ready for the grand opening on Down Home Fab?

Cole DeBoer thought everyone should sign the damaged area as a souvenir.

Once the shock of the accident was gone, the worry set in of having to figure out how to open the store in a matter of weeks. Thankfully, Chelsea tapped into her design talents to reconfigure the space that allowed for contractors to make repairs, while still moving toward opening the business.

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“It sucks because we had to board it up, and it was all boarded up with like just plywood,” she says. “But I was like, paint it black, it’s gonna be fine. I don’t think anyone even really noticed it. So it ended up being fine.” Cole joked that even though it was a serious accident, no one was hurt. “I was gonna lean into it and just embrace it and be like, we should have everyone sign it or write on it, like a souvenir,” he says.
Was the store fully repaired for the grand opening?

“We all just got together, got it cleaned up, back open for business.”

The couple moved forward with the grand opening but repairs were not complete by opening day. Chelsea explains that repairs took longer because the impact compromised the building’s foundation. Cole says that the building’s landlord was in charge of repairs so his hands were tied in terms of working on the project. “It wasn’t as bad as what it kind of seemed,” he says. “But it did take a long time because our landlord, they were the ones fixing it, and then there was just a lot involved. We couldn’t really touch it.I would just look at it everyday I’m like, all right, like let’s just work on it today, but I can’t because wasn’t on me.”
Thankfully, despite having to close the store for a few days, the accident didn’t hinder any of the operations. Plus, everyone came together to help with cleanup and restoration. “We have a lot of great friends and the gals at the store are really great,” Chelsea says. “So we all just got together, got it cleaned up, and back open for business.”
Down Home by DeBoers chief operating officer Zoe Hill told KELO that some items were slightly damaged by flying glass and debris, so she planned to have a scratch and dent sale for those pieces.
Down Home Fab viewers got to see the grand opening and how well the couple and staff pulled it off, despite the damage to the front of the building.
Down Home Fab is on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on HGTV.