Supporters Rally for 'Everyone's Friend', Restaurateur Jason Chan

Amidst the ramp-up of a new Lincoln Park Japanese restaurant, friends of the mastermind behind the project have launched a fundraiser to help curb the costs of his battle with cancer.

The Jason Chan Fight for Life Fund—a fundraiser also referred to as "Chancan"—has been established to help cover mounting medical costs associated with the restaurateur's throat cancer, according to fundraising site GiveForward.

READ: Passion-Fueled Local Business Eases Burden for Struggling Families

Chan is teaming up with B.K. Park to open the 80-seat, 2,500-square-foot restaurant, Juno, at 2638 N. Lincoln Ave. in a space formerly occupied by Merlo La Salumeria, according to City of Chicago building permits.

Chan's diagnosis came in January 2012, GiveForward says. The disease has since claimed his left tonsil, all of the lymph nodes on the left side of his neck and all but seven teeth.

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This past January, Chan began an aggressive seven-week course of daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. A chemo port device has been implanted in his chest through which he is able to receive liquid foods, fundraisers say, and his salivary glands and taste buds are no longer working.

"To know Jason Chan is to love Jason Chan," says his GiveForward profile, which was established by friends John Fiandaca and Joe Colosi. "His smile is contagious, his enthusiasm infectious."

At just shy of $37,000, fundraisers had reached more than one-third of their $100,000 goal as of Monday evening. The initiative will remain open through April 20 and donors should visit the page to contribute.

The page refers to Chan as "everyone’s friend," saying he "lights up a room upon entering."

"My two greatest passions are the hospitality industry and the martial arts," Chan said to Eater Chicago. "I tried to do what I love and at the same time not let my customers and students bare the burden of my struggle."

Juno is slated to open in April, according to reports. Chan described the food to Eater as "contemporary Japanese focused on seafood." The menu will be comprised of 70 percent sushi and sashimi.

Eater reports:

"The rest will be hot food with classic structure and a contemporary twist.

"We're not reinventing the wheel," Chan says. Look for a selection of chicken, pork, and beef among them.

Juno's current business permit was issued on Jan. 1, 2013. It details a $8,500 renovation that includes minimal demolition of load-bearing walls and the build-out of a sushi bar in the space's southwest corner.

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