2 days Ago By Devika Desai
It’s what Calgary is known for, according to Jesse Modz, radio host for CJAY92. “It doesn’t matter our economic times, whether you know we’re in trouble financially or whatnot,” he said. “If a Calgarian can help out another Calgarian, they’ll do whatever they can to do that.
” He and his co-host JD had first heard reports that the iconic 1953 Cadillac that has sat on the roof of Bowness’ beloved burger stop Angel’s Drive-In had been vandalized in early March. The car had been discovered the morning of Feb. 28, with graffiti spray-painted all over it.
“It was just such a bummer that somebody would go up and take advantage of this small business,” Modz said. “We just know how hardworking the people of Bowness are and how hardworking Angel’s Drive-In is, and that’s a business that always gives back.” The radio hosts spoke about the vandalism during their morning show, offering $5,000 from the station’s funds to help out the restaurant with restoring the car.
“It was just kind of something that we wanted to put on our shoulders,” he said. “Like, ‘You guys got enough in these economic times with your bills and the struggle of getting people in and out of a mom and pop shop. Let us take care of the terrible thing that happened to your business.
'” First, they got a phone call from Jason Steiert of Stonewall Foundations Ltd., a local company, with the offer to remove the car from the roof with a crane and transport it to a body shop, free of charge. All that remained was to find a body shop to restore the vehicle.
The hosts updated their audience and “immediately our text lines are the radio station just started getting flooded,” with suggestions of who to call. All lines led to Derek Zuck at Legacy Body and Speed, a Strathmore-based auto shop, known for restoring classic cars. “When (Jesse) called me and told me about the story, I felt bad,” Zuck said.
“So I figured we do our part for the community and restore it for them.” Due to a few prior commitments, the auto shop couldn’t take the car in for a few weeks, according to Modz. However, as of April 1, the car was lifted off the roof of the restaurant, onto a crane and transported to the shop for repair.
“There’s going to be quite a bit of work,” Zuck said — about a week of five or six of his crew sanding the car to remove the graffiti and then repainting it fully. “It’ll look like the day it was bought, nice and shiny,” he said. While a defeating beginning, the story had a heartwarming ending, according to Modz.
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