After car crashes into it, Lexington shop makes T-shirts to raise money for police

After a car plowed into its building Wednesday, a Lexington shop has released a new T-shirt touting the business as the “home of the world’s only drive-thru shop” to raise money for law-enforcement families.

No one was injured Wednesday in the collision that sent a BMW through the front of the Shop Local Kentucky clothing store on Woodland Avenue, but the store was heavily damaged. The shop is expected to reopen sometime next week while repairs are ongoing, according to owner Rick Paynter.

Despite the setback, the people at Shop Local Kentucky are using the experience to raise money for a good cause.

“Our brand embraces positivity and humor,” Paynter said. “Everyone from our printers to our sales associates know that as cliché as it is, making lemonade out of lemons is how we operate.”

In this case, that meant creating and selling a new T-shirt design with all proceeds going to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. The foundation provides financial assistance for law enforcement families in times of tragedy and funds scholarships, according to its website.

“When I arrived on scene and got to speaking to the first responder… I realized that they are always here and get very little credit for what they do every day,” Paynter said. “They were so gracious and kind and even stayed late into the night as we boarded up the shop.”

The new shirt, which went on sale Thursday, is bright blue and includes an image of a car lodged in the front window of the shop. It’s available on the Shop Local Kentucky website for $18.

“I thought, this is our opportunity to use our platform for a little bit of good,” Paynter said. “I called a meeting with our graphic designers and got the shirts rolling the next morning.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 4:44 PM with the headline "After car crashes into it, Lexington shop makes T-shirts to raise money for police."