LOGAN SQUARE — Parents and staff are devastated after a day care facility in Logan Square that served more than 50 kids was abruptly shut down the day before Thanksgiving.
The morning of Nov. 23 owner Anthony Morelli emailed the staff at A-Karrasel, 3420 W. Fullerton Ave., saying the facility had to shut down immediately due to financial issues, according to staff and parents.
It came as a total shock to staff, some of whom had been working there for more than 20 years.
"I had teachers crying because now they can't pay their mortgage. It was a nightmare," said Iris Cedeno, the facility's director of seven years.
But there were signs of trouble before the sudden closure. Staff said they hadn't been paid in weeks and were owed hundreds of dollars.
Nelly Torres, who had been teaching at the facility for four years, had to cancel her family's Thanksgiving dinner because she didn't have enough money to pay for food.
"It's really hard ... It's really hard to talk about it, but I never expected this to happen," Torres said.
Morelli did not respond to requests for comment.
Cristine Perez-Olson, whose 3-year-old daughter was enrolled at A-Karrasel, was so upset that she launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay the staff — a group of nine women who she said "genuinely loved" all of the children in their care.
"Rather than going somewhere with teachers, it felt like you were dropping your kid off at your aunt's house," Perez-Olson said. "I grew to love these women and my daughter did too. On that last day it felt like I was at a funeral. It was too sad not to try and do something."
After some back and forth with Morelli, Cedeno said he finally gave them the money he owed them last weekend.
The closure also left parents scrambling to find child care. Because of the holiday, many parents couldn't find an alternative and some of them had to take off work to watch their children, which resulted in docked pay, Perez-Olson said.
"I'm very fortunate that my employer is extremely compassionate. For me, it wasn't an issue. But for others, it was an issue," she said.
Perez-Olson said A-Karrasel was one of the last affordable child care options in the changing neighborhood.
"This neighborhood is kind of blowing up and it's been difficult to find anything within our price range," she said.
Founded in 1966, A-Karrasel operates five other locations in the Chicago area: 3030 N. Kedzie Ave., 7801 W. Grand Ave., 1920 E. Touhy Ave. and 4248 W. Grace St.
It's unclear if the other locations are at risk of closure.
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