Local bar hosts fund-raiser for Red Cross

Red, white and blue balloons bunched together were the only indication of a "special event" Nicks English Hut, 423 E. Kirkwood Ave., sent to passers-by Thursday.\nWaitresses and bartenders worked almost for free from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., donating all their tips to aid the Red Cross in relief efforts of the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York last week.\n"We wanted to do something to help and we knew giving blood wasn't an option," said Wendy Clendening, a waitress who is also a sophomore at the University.\nShe said that blood banks probably had enough donors at this time due public outcry, and also that she herself could not give blood. \n"So we thought about donating our tips here," Clendening said.\nAround noon the flood came; a line of people formed at the door, and the wooden booths were filled. Many of the lunching patrons wore a red, white and blue ribbon, like the ones that sat on the counter by the front window, accompanied by a jar with a sign: "donations for ribbons." \nNick's -- characterized by a friendly atmosphere that resembles Cheers, complete with mounted taxidermy and six televisions over the bar blaring four channels -- had its benefit under way.\n"I was pretty floored by it," said Nick's customer Jason Bennett, a Bloomington resident. "It basically means that the entire staff is giving up a day's pay." \n"We all just wanted to do something tangible to help these people," said waitress Natalie Cabanaw, Bloomington resident. "All the waitresses who agreed to do this with me are full time students. And, I just think it is really cool that they would agree to do it. It's really a big tribute to them."\nCo-owner Rex Barnes said the event took about a week to plan. While Nick's advertised moderately, news of the benefit mainly traveled from customer to customer. \n"One of our customers mailed 500 people yesterday," he said.\nAnd it worked.\n"I'd say I'd leave a bigger tip today because of it, to help out," said Becky Kehrberg, a Bloomington resident.\nBennett was equally impressed with their efforts. \n"If the staff is basically donating a days pay, think about the difference that it would make if everyone did the same," he said.\nNick's is no stranger to fund-raising. The restaurant/bar does four to five of such events yearly, Cabanaw said, the most recent being for the family of Jill Behrman, a missing IU student and Bloomington native. The bar raised nearly $1000 in tips at that event.