The laid-off workers rallying outside the skyscraper formerly known as the John Hancock Center to demand pay and benefits Wednesday held up signs listing how many years they had worked at the Signature Room, the iconic Chicago restaurant that abruptly closed Sept. 28.

Bartender Jesus Abelar’s had the highest number. “46 años,” it read.

No one hinted the 95th floor restaurant and its 96th floor lounge would close when Abelar worked there the night before layoffs blindsided about 130 workers last Thursday, he said. The news shocked him, and he’s wondering how he’ll pay bills and go to the doctor.

For nearly five decades, he had made friends, joking with customers at his bar, where many loved his unmashed “Old Town Old-Fashioned” and seats were often full, he said. He hopes a new owner reopens the spot and rehires him and his colleagues.

“I miss it. I really miss it,” he told the Tribune after the rally. “I would like to come back. I’m a professional bartender. I’m not starting to learn.”

The Unite Here Local 1 union that represents the workers filed a lawsuit Monday alleging employees weren’t given proper notice of the layoffs before the restaurant and lounge shuttered.

[ Union sues over Signature Room layoffs ]

The lawsuit accuses owners Infusion Management Group of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires certain large employers to provide written notice of certain business closures or mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. The company must pay the workers 60 days pay and benefits, it argues.

The company’s owners, Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis, cited “economic hardship” related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a public statement announcing the unexpected closure. Infusion was awarded $4.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 and 2021. Most of the money was for payroll and has since been forgiven, records show.

Unite Here Local 1 also filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor Tuesday, a department spokesperson confirmed.

Roman and Pyknis could not be immediately reached for comment.

As workers described what the sudden closure meant to them, Local 1 President Karen Kent called the shutdown “both illegal and immoral.”

“It is a disgrace. The callous disregard that they have shown these workers is a disgrace and it is shameful,” Kent said. “We are here today with one simple request: that the Signature Room follow the law. That they pay these workers what they’re owed.”

Kent said it was unclear how long it would take for the lawsuits to play out, but pledged to take “every avenue” in pursuing compensation. If a new operator opens in the high-rise restaurant, they should rehire the laid-off workers, she said.

Nina Hernandez worked at the restaurant for 18 years, she said. She got the job when her son was 4 months old and raised him by herself with the money she earned, she continued.

She saw the city’s skyline change over the years she worked there. She was scheduled to work an early shift the day she found out via email that her workplace had closed.

[ Signature Room restaurant and lounge close after decades in former Hancock Center ]

“I was completely hurt. We all were. It really hurt to be so blindsided,” she said. “They robbed us of the opportunity to say goodbye.”

Carlos Aguinaga worked at the Signature Room for 25 years, he said in Spanish. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to cook, he said.

“I love my job because we help people celebrate beautiful moments in their lives,” Aguinaga said via a translator.

The restaurant’s closure was “shocking,” he said.

“Everything had seemed normal. The day before, I was placing food orders, and we were preparing for upcoming events, including a wedding,” he continued.

When he got to work, Aguinaga’s key card didn’t work. Then, he saw a notice announcing the closure on the door, he said. He worries about how he’ll pay for his daughter’s college, he said.

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“It feels very sad and frustrating that the company turned their backs on us and treated us as if we mean nothing. It’s very stressful to think about losing our health care coverage. Our bills and rent payments are still due. We had no time to save money,” Aguinaga said.

Line cook Martin Torres sautéed, fried and prepped food at the restaurant, he told the Tribune after the rally. His best dish was the fish, he said.

He got into cooking after being involved with gangs as a younger man, he said. It took years to secure a job at a nicer restaurant such as the Signature Room, he added. He worked at the restaurant for five years. It made him proud, he said.

“Everything was pretty much taken from me,” Torres said. “I feel wrongly done. And not just for myself, but for my co-workers, especially the ones who have been here years and years. All they know is this place.”

Torres’ wife told him not to worry about immediately finding a new job. He appreciates her trying to take the pressure off, he said. Still, he’s already started to look for work, he added.