For the last 45 years, Christmas Eve at the Esquire Lounge in Champaign meant one thing: Fried chicken, free of charge, to anyone who walked in the door. A tradition started after Bob Osiek, Joe Donahue and Pedro Heller took over in the mid-1970s morphed into a must-attend bash, the pub crawling with holiday customers until the doors closed around 6 p.m. It cost a pretty penny but worth the effort. âIt was a way to say thanks to the customers who patronized us all year,â Heller said. âAnd you saw former customers who might have been back in town for the holidays. It was a chance to catch up with a lot of familiar faces.â