At 10:49 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, a Penske truck drove onto Robert Parker Coffin Road and wedged itself under the covered bridge. Crews let the air out of its tires and freed it. Village President Bill Jacob told the Daily Herald that the bridge had no damage and the driver got a $750 ticket.
At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 20, Jacob will lead the ceremony that lights the same bridge, along with the village tree, to open Vintage Holidays in historic downtown Long Grove.
Those two events are connected. The bridge has held up to dozens of truck strikes because the village rebuilt it, and the village credits that rebuild, plus the sidewalks and streetlights it added around the same time, with bringing investors back downtown. You'll see the results this season while walking from the carriage stop to the chocolate shop.
Why the bridge keeps winning
After a box truck heavily damaged the bridge in 2018, it was restored and reinforced with steel, the Daily Herald reported this spring. It reopened in August 2020. After the October strike, Jacob told the paper the redesign is doing what it was built to do:
"The way I look at it is the bridge wins every time. It's the way we redesigned the cover. It's protecting the bridge."
The usual count of strikes since the reopening comes from a candy shop down the street. Michael Okun, owner of Broken Bridge Treats, put October's strike at number 77 since August 2020. He only counts a vehicle that hits the bridge, gets stuck, and needs both police and a tow truck. The Lake and McHenry County Scanner counts from 2018 and called it at least the 78th. The Scanner's tally starts earlier and uses different criteria. For example, it counts strikes where the vehicle hit the bridge but didn't get stuck. Either way, in this latest strike the bridge was blocked for about an hour, and neither the bridge nor the truck appeared damaged.
The same spending brought the storefronts back
In May, the Daily Herald covered a joint grand opening for two downtown shops. Jacob explained the revival with a list of public works.
"Upgrading the streets, the streetscape, the sidewalks, the streetlights, renovating the (Robert Parker Coffin) bridge," he said. "It is those types of investments that have helped attract investors to the downtown. There were no public sidewalks, there were no streetlights until a few years ago."
That matters on a December evening. The carriage rides, Santa visits and caroling all assume people will walk between shops after dark. A few years ago, downtown had neither the sidewalks nor the streetlights for that.
This is the first holiday season since the two shops from that May story opened. As with any small shop, check hours before you go:
- The Olive Tap, 302 Old McHenry Road. It sells olive oils and balsamic vinegars, plus imported pasta, spices, jams and sauces. It first opened in Long Grove in 2006, closed around 2021 when its original owners moved to Colorado, and reopened February 16 under Kelly Petrocelli, a Long Grove resident who worked at the original store.
- Artistic Creations of Long Grove, 405 Robert Parker Coffin Road. Owner Ellen Glassman stocks photographs, jewelry, ceramics, blown glass, candles, wall art and wind sculptures by artists from Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Mundelein and nearby towns.
A larger share of the revival traces back to one group of owners. Okun and his partners, Gerald Forsythe, Marsha Forsythe and Melissa Bernadette, began buying downtown properties about 10 years ago with the goal of reviving a district that did well before the Great Recession. Okun owns Broken Bridge Treats, The Chatterbox and Joanie's Pizzeria. His wife, Arlene, runs the Sock Monkey Museum, Sock Monkey Snack Company and Covered Bridge Creamery. His partners own Broken Earth Winery. Okun has family ties to the area. He grew up riding his bike downtown when he visited his grandfather in the Country Club Estates neighborhood.
The shop that turned the strikes into a museum
Broken Bridge Treats is in the Little Red Schoolhouse at 220 Robert Parker Coffin Road. It sells chocolate, mostly from Morkes Chocolates in Palatine, along with fudge, truffles, popcorn, chocolate-covered strawberries, taffy apples, cider doughnuts and brown bag pies. The store used to carry the Morkes name. "And then the bridge got hit so many times, we finally said, 'You know what? Let's just call it Broken Bridge Treats,'" Okun told the Daily Herald.
The walls hold framed photos of the strikes, including U-Hauls wedged under the bridge, tow trucks pulling them out, and a bus that was headed to a nearby golf course. A video plays on a loop with Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" as the soundtrack, and bridge T-shirts sell for $20. General manager Karen Klancnik says the display is meant to make people more careful. "There are signs everywhere that say no trucks," she said. "If you think you can't make it, don't go through." After the October strike, the shop gave doughnuts to 77 people, one for each strike on its count.
The shop's posted hours are labeled summer hours, and it notes that hours change during festivals and holidays. Check before you go on a December afternoon.
The season happens on weekends
Vintage Holidays runs November 20 to December 24 and is organized by the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association. The scheduled events fall on one Friday night and then on weekends:
| Date | What's scheduled |
|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 20 | Light Up Long Grove, 5 to 8 p.m. Tractor-pulled wagon rides, late shopping and photo stations from 5 to 7:30. Bridge and tree lighting at 7:30, followed by the Fred Astaire Dancers |
| Sat–Sun, Nov 21–22 | Carriage rides |
| Sat–Sun, Nov 28–29 | Carriage rides; Santa, noon to 4 p.m. |
| Sat–Sun, Dec 5–6 | Carriage rides; Santa; Adlai E. Stevenson High School carolers, Dec 6, noon to 1 p.m. |
| Sat–Sun, Dec 12–13 | Carriage rides; Santa; The Long Grove Carolers, Dec 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Barrington High School, Dec 12, 2 to 4 p.m.; Buffalo Grove High School, Dec 13, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sat–Sun, Dec 19–20 | Carriage rides; Santa; Outbound A Cappella, Dec 19, 2 to 3 p.m.; free photos with Santa, Dec 20, noon to 4 p.m., at Covered Bridge Park |
The free Santa photos on December 20 are first come, first served, and the association says the Santa and caroling schedules may change.
The horse-drawn carriage costs $15 a seat, and children 5 and under ride free on an adult's lap. It seats 10 and takes advance registration, but the event page still lists registration as coming soon. Each rider needs a signed waiver at boarding. Tickets are non-refundable, and rides may be canceled in bad weather to protect the horses. With those limits, booking early for a Saturday in mid-December makes sense.
Where $150 in receipts gets you a bridge ornament
The Sip, Shop and Dine promotion offers a free gift for $150 in receipts, before tax and tip, from historic downtown shops and restaurants dated November 20 through December 24, 2026. Redeem them at the Visitors' Center, 145 Old McHenry Road. This year's gift choices include new Covered Bridge Snowflake Ornaments and Rustic Christmas Tree Wood Slice Ornaments, plus Covered Bridge Coasters, Long Grove Campfire Mugs, scarves, tote bags and holiday treats. Supplies are limited, so earlier redemption gives you more to choose from. The Visitors' Center lists weekday hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Food and drink stops make the $150 easier to reach. The Village of Long Grove's food-services directory, updated July 2026, lists these places within a short walk of the bridge:
- Long Grove Confectionery & Apple Haus, 114 Old McHenry Road
- Long Grove Coffee Co., 126 Old McHenry Road
- Corked, a wine bar and restaurant owned by Ben and JJ Niernberg, 132 Old McHenry Road
- The Village Tavern, 135 Old McHenry Road
- Broken Earth Winery, which pours tasting flights and hosts live music, 219 Robert Parker Coffin Road
- Blu Fig Café, 225 Robert Parker Coffin Road
- Covered Bridge Creamery, 320 Old McHenry Road
- Buffalo Creek Brewing, 360 Historical Lane
The association suggests checking each merchant's website or social media for holiday menus and specials, since many shops add seasonal food, drinks and merchandise for the season.
Light Up Long Grove is a little over two weeks away, on Friday, November 20. Wagon rides start at 5 p.m., and the bridge lights at 7:30.
If seeing the bridge decorated has you thinking about owning a home within walking distance of it, Anne Hardy can walk you through the historic downtown and the streets around it, block by block, and show you what's for sale nearby. Schedule a free consultation, and we can plan a visit for a Vintage Holidays weekend.
