Our beloved Ralf needs you

My name is Erin McDougald; many of you know me as a jazz vocalist and friends also know that my dearest friend on earth is RALF BÖTTGER, otherwise known as the notorious restauranteur and operator of famed Chicago venues from Yvette’s to Bijan’s Bistro for over 4 decades.

Some of you may have heard that on July 20th of this year, Ralf suffered a stroke which ultimately kept him hospitalized for weeks. While his relatively quick recovery of mobility has been nothing short of truly incredible, he has suffered quite a bit of financial hardship. Anyone who has ever MET Ralf knows what a generous, GENUINE, and loyal friend he is. His Germanic pride keeps him from complaining about his ailments so most don’t ever realize all he has been through in recent years— including: multiple bone fractures in his back, hips, pelvis and ribs due to a fall in 2020, as well as a pulmonary disease. He has developed a serious and extreme case of osteoporosis and now, blood clots and vascular stenosis. This has taken a toll on his mentality and energy levels. And it has taken a toll financially as he has not been able to work in a bustling restaurant from 6pm until 4or 5am as he did for so long. Money is scarce and the anxiety has taken a further toll on his heart health.

With humility, on his behalf, I am reaching out to his friends near and far who might be willing to help him through this very stressful time by contributing financially to his mounting bills. I spent most of yesterday dealing with insurance to get more of his care and medications covered but daily expenses are too much for him to keep up with at this point in time. His line of work never offered him a pension which would have saved him from this unneeded worry now.

So, if you are a fellow industry worker from bars to restaurants or a friend or former patron of his from yesteryear or just a neighbor in the neighborhood, your contribution to this fund would be deeply appreciated. Thank you for reading this; please share this with others so he can meet his financial goal as these funds will literally be going towards his bills such as rent, heat, food and electricity for the next several months as he continues to recover.