Fix Wilson Yard's Beer Bargain Bash-O-Rama

Drink all the low-grade beer you can swallow with the die-hards from Fix Wilson Yard. Yessir, the yuppies are slumming it with Miller Lite at a recession-friendly price that even a Helen Shiller supporter can afford, and it all happens this coming Saturday, May 16 at T's Bar & Restaurant, 5025 N. Clark. Drinking their troubles away? Perhaps, in light of the fact that they just suffered what could be - indeed, should be - a fatal blow to their now-too-long-prolonged lawsuit to "fix" Wilson Yard in Uptown. Meanwhile, after raising and spending many tens of thousands of dollars to "fight" the TIF-supplemented development at N. Broadway and W. Montrose, much of Uptown remains broken. Fix Wilson Yard's lawsuit, it would seem, is now broken as well. On May 13, this was posted on the FWY web site: Yesterday [May 12], we received the judge's ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss. Fix Wilson Yard is reviewing its options after learning about an unfavorable outcome. While we are disappointed by the judge's ruling, we remain committed to our cause. We are in the process of conferring with our attorneys and weighing our options, including filing an amended complaint and/or an appeal. Once a course of action is determined, we will communicate it to you. One wonders if the Fix Wilson Yard Legal Team didn't hit the bar a bit early. Perhaps they bellied up on Tuesday, May 12, the day they got the bad news from the judge. Perhaps one of them awoke from a beer stupor and said, "Oh crap, we fergot tuh posht the bad newsh on the web shite." The bad newsh was put on the web site on May 13, the day after the judge's ruling. But wait, it gets worse. Still at the Figurative Bar on May 14, the Legal Team was still figuratively drunk. Perhaps, again, one of them sat bolt upright, this time to say, "Oh crap, we fergot tuh shend out the bad newsh in a e-newzshledder. Hey, where the HELL are my Beer Nuts?" They put that announcement up on their web site a day late, but didn't bother - or forgot - to email it to people until - get this - 9:17 p.m. on Thursday, two days after the unfavorable ruling. "9:17 p.m." is the time stamp on the copy I received, anyway, and - get this - there wasn't a word about it on their Facebook page as of the same time. Is that any way to keep people informed? Well, failure is nothing to brag about, which brings us right back to the upcoming beer bash, which is billed as a "Happy Hour Fundraiser." And what the heck are they doing raising more cash if their case looks so bleak and their "course of action" has yet to be "determined?" It's like a drunk insisting you buy him another round, even as he's wobbling about and ready to fall down. The prudent course of action would be to sit the drunk down on a chair and urge him to sleep it off. To buy him another round at that point would be rather pointless. It's hard to discern what will be "happy" about Saturday's fundraiser. The only people benefitting from the ongoing legal fight are the lawyers. Nobody in the neighborhood is getting a dime out of this, and - let's face facts, people - the development at Wilson Yard is so far under way now that the Fix Wilson Yard lawsuit stands about as much chance of being successful as Alderman Helen Shiller has at winning a congeniality contest. In other words, drop the damned thing already. What started out as a valiant effort for an ostensibly good cause has turned into a zombie, a walking dead man bumping into walls, arms outstretched, determined to find something to kill and chew on, but he just can't because everything he chases is smarter and moves faster. Perhaps the good folks who make up Fix Wilson Yard could free up the court's docket, stop giving people false hope, and put the remaining money that they've already raised to real, honest-to-God good use. Inspiration Cafe, for example, which feeds good meals to the homeless could use a few dollars. They're just one of many charities in Uptown that try every day in a tangible way to fix local problems. Wilson Yard is a war that has been won, and not by Fix Wilson Yard. They've become not unlike an isolated Japanese soldier on a remote South Pacific island in 1946, unaware that his side lost the war. Fix Wilson Yard, out of ammunition, keeps cocking an empty rifle. They've mistaken money as ammo. The real bullets would be a crack legal team and a tight case that a judge would consider worthy. They seem to have neither, but that isn't stopping them from seeking another quick fix of cash for legal fees. Therefore, the upcoming beer-a-thon fundraiser. From Fix Wilson Yard, this promotional announcement: Happy Hour Fundraiser Saturday, May 16 4pm - 6pm T's Bar & Restaurant, 5025 N. Clark $20 buys you all the Miller Lite you can drink. What a bargain! Even if you don't care about Wilson Yard, you can swill beer with fellow bingers for a cheap pre-dinner drunk. Drink up, folks, drink all the beer and futility you can swallow. Don't forget your designated driver. Leave a Comment on our Guestbook CommieBama Hats and More Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter

New Bar, Same Bad Location

New bar coming to bad location in Rogers Park soon.

Watch for it at 6962 N Glenwood Avenue, which is the former site of both Bar None (destroyed by fire last summer) and of the notorious DJ's Ranch. If you don't like the drinks you can score narcotics or weed on this stretch of N. Glenwood, between Morse to the south and Lunt to the north.

http://www.theglenwoodbar.com/Home.html

Illinois Smoking Ban Hurting Bars, Taverns

The January 1st statewide ban on smoking in bars is hurting - you guessed it - bars. Duh. The Bench predicted this, but it doesn't take a genius to understand that when you suddenly treat loyal patrons like unwanted guests, they're going to take the hint. Several walk throughs of east Rogers Park have shown that business is down. Way down. Duke's Bar on N. Glenwood, for example, has been noticeably slower sincer January 1. In fact, Duke's just raised the prices on beer last week. Coincidence? You tell me. With smaller crowds but the same rent and payroll, many other bars will raise their prices, too. But that will only cause a downward spiralling of their business volume. Many smokers are telling The Bench that they are opting to stay home with a six pack or party at a friend's place - where they can smoke. Some residents of Rogers Park choose the freedom of drinking (and smoking) in the park. The Oasis is a bar whose patrons, like Duke's, include many smokers. Their crowds have also been noticeably smaller. Morseland, an upscale yuppie nightclub, has also been visibly slower. Lorraine Swanson writes about this bruising of the bar business in the News-Star. She quotes a bar owner as saying that they have "lost 25 to 40 percent of business at the bar, where smoking was permitted." The Bench predicted a 15 to 40 percent loss for bars. The trend will continue, we predict. More and more smokers will realize that they don't need to tip bartenders and servers to get their drink on. More and more bar patrons, including nonsmokers, will be turned away by higher prices to make up for the loss of the smokers' money. More and more bars and taverns will go out of business, causing unemployment for some people. As a result, the state will pay more in unemployment compensation even as tax revenues from bar sales drops. Meanwhile, liquor stores win. It's a lose-lose situation. Congratulations, Illinois.