Worth’s Crossing Bar and Grill won’t reopen after shooting
By Bob Bong
The Crossing Bar and Grill in Worth, where two men were shot and killed the night of January 10, is permanently closed. The bar had been closed since the shootings.
At a village board meeting after the shootings, a resident brought up her concerns about alleged disturbances that have taken place at the bar.
Worth Mayor Mary Werner told the resident she was going to have a frank discussion with the owners.
She said the owners surrendered their liquor license during that meeting. “They voluntarily walked away.”
The village board was to vote Tuesday night to amend the liquor ordinance to reflect the establishment’s closing.
“It’s probably best for everyone,” she said. “There has been so much negative publicity, I don’t think they could have reopened. Social media is hard to overcome.”
She was referring to dozens of posts on Facebook and other sites condemning the bar and the owners for the killings of Kevin Drexel and Danny Sereiko, both of Oak Lawn.
Werner said the business owners were renting and did not own the building, so it may get a new life in the future.
Werner also confirmed that the man being sought by police for the shootings had taken his own life in a nearby community.
On January 13, an arrest warrant was issued for a man positively identified as the offender in the double homicide at the Crossing Bar and Grill.
On January 20, the Worth Police Department learned that the offender may have committed suicide in another town. He was positively identified and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
She said police do not know for sure what triggered the incident.
“It has been difficult trying to determine what was the catalyst behind the shootings,” she said. “The victims were not gang-bangers. They were older. Had children. The whole situation is so sad.”
Gofundme campaigns were started for the families of both men. As of Tuesday, the fund for Kevin Drexel had raised more than $12,300 while the fund for Danny Sereiko had raised almost $37,000.
He is the author of "Bob Bong on Business"
Bong has covered the south suburbs and South Side of Chicago for more than 40 years. He was editor of The Daily Calumet until 1987 when he moved over to the Daily Southtown after the Cal was acquired by Pulitzer. Since 2013, he has been editor of the Desplaines Valley News based in Summit. He has been writing Comings & Goings for more than 15 years. Comings & Goings also appears in the Southtown, the DVN, the Reporter and Regional newspapers, as well as on the Tribune website.
Comings & Goings tracks new businesses coming to the Southland as well as those that are leaving.
If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com. You can track business openings and closings at http://bobbongonbusiness.com/
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