Loop steakhouse staff organize fundraiser for coworker with terminal cancer

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The staff at the Grillroom Chophouse in Chicago's Loop is stepping up to help a co-worker who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Brian Vincent, 41, is a waiter with no current health insurance. Two weeks ago, he found out he has less than a year to live.

"You always think, if I have a year or two to live, I want to go to the islands. I want to do all this. I want to be around the people I love here in the 15 degree weather," Vincent said.

After a trip to the emergency room he was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma.

"It's on my vertebrae, my lung, my right chest and my under my left arm," he said.

After his diagnosis he signed up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act but that coverage doesn't kick in until March, delaying much-needed treatment.

"He makes an impact on everybody that he talks to," said Jen Shannon, the restaurant's general manager.

Shannon is organizing a 'Tipping Our Hat to You, Brian' fundraiser to help with his medical expenses. She's asking for servers and bartenders from across the city and suburbs to donate a portion of their tips next Friday.

"We all come together. We come together as a team always. We all look out for each other," she said.

The fundraiser for Brian Vincent is next Friday, Feb. 17. Organizers have contacted dozens of restaurants. They're hoping to raise $50,000.

"I am just trying to stay positive. Just the outpouring, it just blows me away," Vincent said.