A family-owned antique shop in the heart of suburban La Grange Park aims to rebuild after a recycling truck ran into its storefront Thursday morning.
A truck drove into Heart’s Desire, a small business at 1014 E. 31st St., about 8 a.m. Thursday, Village Manager Julia Cedillo said. The crash shattered windows, ceiling boards and decades-old heirlooms. The driver was taken to Loyola Medicine, though there were no reported injuries, Cedillo said.
Village agencies are now securing and assessing the area around the shop. Contractors were seen moving broken tables and shoveling concrete and stone shards out of the storefront. Debris from the collision was piled up on the blocked-off sidewalk in front of the antique shop. The outdoor seating section of a neighboring cafe was also cordoned off.
Sue Hull, owner of Heart’s Desire, said it might take a few days to fully understand the scope of Thursday’s damage.
“We’re brick-and-mortar, and we’re retail,” she said. “(This) affects us greatly.”
Sue Hull’s brother-in-law Bill said Heart’s Desire has been open in downtown La Grange Park for about 27 years. The owners grew up in neighboring Brookfield, and the store employs about five people. Sue Hull and her late mother were the original owners, Bill Hull said.
The Hulls and two other employees who arrived at the scene were picking out some of the antiques as city workers continued to stabilize the building. One employee held onto a frog-shaped purse as she sat in front of a neighboring dentist’s office.
There were no witnesses to the collision in the morning, Cedillo said, and officials aren’t yet aware of why it occurred. A spokesperson for Lakeshore Recycling Systems, which operates the truck that crashed into Heart’s Desire on Thursday, said the company is cooperating with authorities investigating the collision but didn’t immediately have additional information.
Bill Hull said Heart’s Desire will rebuild. “Come to the new grand opening,” he quipped.
