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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING CLUB LUCKY AS IT CELEBRATES 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS
WHEREAS, Club Lucky, an Italian restaurant located at 1824 W. Wabansia on the northeast corner of Wabansia and Honore streets, is nestled into Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, Club Lucky was one of the early Bucktown pioneers. In 1990, co-owners Jim Higgins and Robert Paladino purchased a Polish corner neighborhood bar and the adjacent, abandoned community center and transformed it into Club Lucky over the span of a year; and
WHEREAS, like all the best places in Chicago, Club Lucky has a history. It served as a speakeasy during prohibition, with a hardware storefront and gin martinis as the signature drink; and
WHEREAS, Club Lucky was also once the site of a local dance hall, and its dining room décor transports you to a 1940’s supper club; and
WHEREAS, the co-owners compare their neighborhood fixture to “sitting at grandmother’s table having a hearty meal,” while the Chicago Sun-Times said, “It’s a restaurant that fits like a comfortable pair of shoes”; and
WHEREAS, the menu at Club Lucky offers traditional Italian favorites but is Southern-Italian influenced as Higgins is part Sicilian. The marinara sauce is good enough to sell by the jar; and
WHEREAS, Club Lucky was praised on “Check, Please,” with shout outs given to the homemade eight-finger cavatelli, the various calamari preparations, the chicken vesuvio, the stuffed artichokes, and the tiramisu-to name a few; and
WHEREAS, the bar is as beloved as the restaurant, evoking a cool but unpretentious vibe with its polished black Formica-top bar that runs the length of the room, rows of cocktail shakers, a juke box, and Naugahyde banquettes; and
WHEREAS, Club Lucky’s Killer Martinis are a trademark and predated the martini bar craze by more than a decade; and
WHEREAS, in true Chicago fashion, Club Lucky is reportedly the last remaining tavern in the states to serve as a polling place; and
WHEREAS, Club Lucky gives back to the community with an Eat and Earn Program that donates cash to non-profits, and it was also an early supporter of Dining Out for Life, an annual event that benefits HIV/AIDS organizations.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby honor Club Lucky for its thirty years in business; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to owners Jim Higgins and Bobby Paladino as a token of our appreciation for their contributions to the Bucktown community and beyond.
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