MORGAN PARK — Dan Cullinan said Thursday that he feels like George Bailey from the classic Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life."
The owner of Cullinan's Stadium Club expects the Illinois Department of Revenue to approve reopening his bar and grill at 11610 S. Western Ave. in Morgan Park by Friday afternoon.
The approval comes after a GoFundMe effort raised $14,215 to save the business that Cullinan opened in 1989. State regulators had closed the bar Dec. 8 because of a tax discrepancy dating back several years, Cullinan said.
Most of the donations to the "Let's Help Dan Get His Bar Back" online fundraiser were about $100. Many came with a notes hoping that Cullinan could get the bar back into good standing as well as sharing fond memories of time spent in the humble tavern.
"I am just so touched by these kind words and show of generosity. It restores my faith to see how many people are really that good," he said.
The GoFundMe page was launched by John Dreznes, whose family owns neighboring Beverly Records. Cullinan said he plans to contact Dreznes Thursday and ask him to take down the website and thank him for organizing the effort that saved his business.
"It is not just my bar is back. Our bar is back," he said, referring to the people who helped him emerge from the tax delinquency. "I want to shake hands and give a kiss to everybody who made this beautiful thing happen."
In fact, Cullinan has already planned an Irish New Year celebration for 4-9 p.m. Saturday. The private event celebrates the arrival of 2017 on the Emerald Isle. It costs $50 to attend, and the party is capped at 80 people. Festivities will include dinner, open bar with a champagne toast as well as a DJ and dancing.
He hopes the colder weather will also bode well for the Stadium Club as regular events such as trivia night and the weekly fish fry return.
And while he said his business will now likely be a candidate for future audits, he hopes to never again be in such a dire situation. And Cullinan added that he also used all of the money he'd personally saved to pay off the debt too.
That said, Cullinan said he plans to have the note from "It's a Wonderful Life" framed and hung behind the bar. The note reads, "Remember no man is a failure who has friends."
"Those people that read that will know exactly what it means," he said.
