Confusion Over Burr Ridge Restaurant Hours

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge is considering an ordinance setting new hours for restaurants. But the process has been marked by confusion over the village's powers.

The village's administration is seeking to set the closing times for restaurants at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and midnight every other day.

When the Plan Commission reviewed the matter last month, the village's attorney, Mike Durkin, said the ordinance could not apply to restaurants in planned unit developments such as Village Center and County Line Square.

After the meeting, Durkin revised his advice, saying the regulations could apply to restaurants with liquor licenses in planned unit developments.

At the Village Board meeting last week, Durkin said the rules could apply to all restaurants except two with 2 a.m. closing times – County Wine Merchant and Jonny Cab's, which is yet to open. Both are in County Line Square.

He said those two restaurants got permits for 2 a.m. closings after public hearings, so the village could not remove that right.

A lawyer for Capri Ristorante, which is in County Line Square, told the board the restaurant has had a 2 a.m. permitted closing time for the last 18 years. Officials said they would look into that.

In an email this week, Patch asked Village Administrator Evan Walter whether the village had found Capri Ristorante was allowed to stay open until 2 a.m.

He responded that the village's ordinance on hours would apply to all, including Capri Ristorante and the other restaurants mentioned in the meeting.

"Nobody will be permitted to stay open until 2 a.m. if the ordinance is approved," Walter said in an email.

He said the Village Board would consider the issue at its meeting Monday.