Fat Sal's got a rude, and potentially deadly, awakening when a van barreled through its front doors Tuesday morning ... destroying the Hollywood sandwich shop.
The scary accident went down around 7:30 AM, just as employees were prepping food. We're told a woman was driving down Highland Ave. when she experienced mechanical failure, careened across 4 lanes and crashed into the building.
The front of the shop and its interior were obliterated ... windows, chairs, tables ... all crushed. Fat Sal's opens at 11 AM, so thankfully there were no customers at that time.
We're told the employees are okay and cops are treating this as an unfortunate accident. We're told the restaurant's owner will not press charges. And, get this ... the restaurant's to-go location just a couple doors down will be open for biz today!
Fat Sal's is frequented by tons of celebs. Fabolous was just there a couple weeks ago.