'It's A Wonderful Life' Pop-Up Bar To Add More Spots

BERWYN, IL — UPDATE: The limited spots for the ''It's A Wonderful Life'' Pop-Up Bar filled up in just two hours. This could have broken several thousand hearts, but FitzGerald's Nightclub has added more seats to one night of the event to accommodate the massive amount of interest.

Reservations to snag a seat at the 'It's A Wonderful Life' pop-up bar opened at 12 p.m. Tuesday. At 12:35 p.m., the phones at FitzGerald's were "going nuts," their publicist, Mary Houlihan, told Patch. By 2 p.m. they had "sold out," she said. Nearly two hours later, FitzGerald's was still getting phone calls from people interested in the pop-up bar, which will be open Wednesdays in December.

As a result of the insane demand FitzGerald's will add seats to the Dec. 27 date to expand from the SideBar into their nightclub and musical venue, which has a capacity of nearly 300 people.

Houlihan said the details of the expanded night would be up on their website in the next couple days.

The 'It's a Wonderful Life' Pop-Up is a collaboration between FitzGerald's Nightclub and The Roosevelt Room, a group of Berwyn-based bartenders and will transform the space into "Nick's," the tavern from 'It's A Wonderful Life," antique dinging cash register and all. A special cocktail menu has been created for the event, which includes flaming rum punch and character-inspired drinks like "Zuzu's Petals."

Guests who are lucky enough to snag a ticket can dance to live holiday tunes, sing along to "Auld Lang Syne," and a watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

The space at FitzGerald's has been a musical mainstay in Berwyn since before the 1950s and has hosted jazz musicians, pop icons, fortune tellers, and other acts. You might remember it as the blues joint from "Adventures In Babysitting" or as the spot where Paul Newman first meets Tom Cruise in "The Color of Money."

Watch the scene that inspired the "It's A Wonderful Life" popup bar:

>>Image via YouTube user Cheryl Charming

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It turns out it might be just as tough to get into the 'It's A Wonderful Life' Pop-Up Bar as it was for Clarence to get his wings. After more than 10,000 people responded to the Facebook event, Fitzgerald's Bar has made the bar RSVP-only. Reservations begin at noon Tuesday (it's ok to panic; that's today).

Due to the "overwhelming response," the bar, which typically seats fewer than 100 people, announced the change via its Facebook event page, which now says in capital letters: "YOU MUST RESERVE A SPACE TO ATTEND."

Again, reservations begin Tuesday, November 14 at 12 p.m.

If you're interested in going, you can reserve a space for four people and you can only reserve one Wednesday. Just one Wednesday. One fleeting chance to behold this holiday miracle.

The only way —we repeat, the only way— to secure a spot atop George Bailey's barstool for the It's a Wonderful Life Pop-Up Bar is to call Fitzgerald's between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 through Friday Nov. 17.

The number to Fitzgerald's is 708-788-2118, extension 0. We expect that phone will be ringing so much that a whole legion of angels will get their wings.

>>Imag via, YouTube, Syzygy