James P’Pool, a long-time server at the Signature Room in Chicago’s former John Hancock Center, lost his job abruptly on September 28, 2023. An email notified him and over 100 other workers that the restaurant was closing immediately after three decades of operation.
“It’s almost like I lost a limb when I lost the Signature,” P’Pool said.
The closure was communicated to the public with a sign taped to the lobby doors. Owners Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis cited “economic issues” stemming from challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic in their message: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the permanent closing of our beloved Signature Room at the 95th effective Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.” The statement explained that “challenges have been greater than anticipated.”
The sudden shutdown led UNITE HERE Local 1—the union representing Signature Room employees—to file a lawsuit in October 2023. The suit claimed Infusion Management, which owned and operated the restaurant, violated federal law by not giving proper notice before laying off its staff. Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, businesses with more than 75 employees must provide at least 60 days’ notice ahead of mass layoffs or closures.
In November 2023, Infusion Management filed for bankruptcy protection. By March 2024, a federal judge ordered it to pay $1.54 million to former employees for violating the WARN Act.
Despite this judgment, workers have yet to receive any back pay or benefits nearly two years later. Last week, UNITE HERE Local 1 filed another lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging owners Roman and Pyknis transferred assets from Infusion Management to RSR Capital Group—a separate entity they controlled—before using those assets for personal debts rather than employee claims.
“It’s frustrating because I put in my blood, sweat and tears for 17 years at that restaurant, so I think they owe me for my blood, sweat and tears,” P’Pool said.
The new complaint asks that RSR Capital Group as well as Roman and Pyknis be held personally liable: “Roman directed and controlled the assets of Infusion and RSR to be used for his own and Pyknis’s benefit rather than to satisfy creditors,” according to court documents. “This is an injustice that requires the corporate veil of Infusion be pierced to hold Roman and Pyknis personally liable for the debts of Infusion.”
Attempts to reach Roman and Pyknis were unsuccessful; court records show they have thirty days to respond.
P’Pool reflected on signs he noticed before closure—including cutbacks on holiday decorations—but said staff received no warning about losing their jobs: an experience he called “traumatic.” While he found work soon after being laid off at age 59, others struggled or retired earlier than planned.
He credited UNITE HERE Local 1 with supporting workers through legal action and helping some maintain health insurance temporarily following closure—something important for P’Pool as a cancer survivor who needs regular screenings as well as his husband who also has health concerns.
“I’m mad at the Signature Room for what they did to me and my coworkers,” P’Pool said. “I felt that it was selfish and they were just thinking of themselves. They weren’t thinking of the family that we had at the restaurant.”
Meanwhile, plans are underway for redevelopment of floors previously occupied by The Signature Room. In June it was announced that 360 Chicago acquired those floors with intentions to create an observation deck along with space for private events; construction is expected to last two years.
