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Community rallies to help restore restaurant’s Christmas display destroyed by vandals
CHICAGO - A West Town restaurant that was just trying to brighten up the neighborhood with a Christmas display has been hit by vandals.
But the neighborhood isn't having it, and now people are banning together to bring it back.
The vandalism occurred at the Irish Nobleman Pub around 4 AM Friday morning. Many of the restaurant’s inflatable decorations were knocked to the ground and destroyed.
"We’re racking our brains trying to figure out who would do this so close to Christmas, and why? We don’t know," said Irish Nobleman Pub owner Declin Morgan.
The owner said they began working on the massive display back in October. It includes thousands of lights and dozens of holiday inflatables -- all destroyed in less than 5 minutes.
"Ripped our snowman, slays, lights, they cut wires. They wrecked it," he said.
Irish Nobleman Pub is one of few restaurants in West Town able to host the mandated outdoor dining. The owner says he wanted to keep his staff employed during the holidays and also offer his long time patrons a great escape.
"It’s so sad. This is our local community and we’re here all the time so it’s definitely disheartening," said patron Rachel Benbrook.
The good news is the restaurant is pushing through. They have restored many of the decorations with help from Lowe’s Home Improvement. There is also growing support on a GoFundMe page created by a neighbor.
"Everything we’ve done this year has been a fight. We haven’t stopped. If we did, we’ll be outta business," Morgan said.