Bridges History Lesson

In March of 2002, our dad showed us his new investment – this restaurant & an old dive shop. His attachment to & love for the property was obvious; he had spent many years helping his father run Pioneer Lumber, which used to be next door. What we saw, however, was a greasy, neglected restaurant with a “For Rent” sign in the window. At the time, everything seemed pretty filthy & undesirable – we just laughed at our dad because this was so characteristic of him.
The old dive shop, which is now the yellow inn building, housed a small apartment with shag carpet & a makeshift bar. While home for Easter, we drank some beers there. Whether it was something in the air or something in the beer, our opinion of the area must have changed that day. By April, we had quit our jobs in Chicago & moved home to open the restaurant. We enlisted family & friends to help us, & by June, Bridges was up & running!
We chose the name Bridges because of the four bridges that surround us – the rotating Amtrak bridge, the Franklin Street drawbridge, the new Highway 12 & the now demolished old Highway 12 bridge. Our family loves traveling to different beach towns, so we’ve tried to create the fun, casual, relaxed atmosphere that we seek when we go on vacation. We enjoy surrounding ourselves with people, both employees & customers, that can relate to & appreciate this.
Fifteen summers later, the deck continues to grow larger, there’s a full bar, & we now have husbands & children floating around. Many of the same faces