Free Refills Drying Up At Cook County Businesses In Deerfield?

DEERFIELD, IL — Although most of Deerfield and its business community is located in Lake County and thus immune to — and even expected to profit from — this week's implementation of a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages, there are several businesses on the south side of Lake Cook Road. The Deerfield Review reports the latest Cook County tax has already forced at least one small business owner at one of the unluckily located eateries to stop offering free refills of sugary beverages.

"This is going to drive small business out of the county," said Michael Daya, owner of Cooker's Red Hotson the south side of Lake Cook Road. For Daya, the situation is exacerbated by the fact he faces national chain competitors just across the street.

"When the big guys come in it's hard enough," Daya told the paper. "This new tax is just going to make it worse." He said he would stop offering free refills for soda and pass the new tax on to customers. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Deerfield — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Two other restaurants in the Cook County portion of southern Deerfield near the intersection of Lake Cook and Waukegan roads had not officially changed their free refill policies as of Wednesday. The owner of Boston Blackie's declined to comment on the tax, while a shift manager at national chain Mod Pizza told the Deerfield Review that he had heard nothing about a change to the company free refill policy.

Read more from the Deerfield Review

_{Top photo: Mike Mozart (CC)}