'Struggling' Elmhurst Restaurant Wants Liquor Sales

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst restaurant that says it is seeing a slump in business wants the right to serve liquor.

Nia Hao Asian Cafe, 116 W. Park Ave., is requesting a liquor license from the city. A City Council committee plans to hear the matter Monday.

"Unfortunately, we have been recently struggling to maintain a steady flow of customers, and we would like to help this by providing another type of service," the restaurant said in its request. "We also continually have customers requesting alcohol, and because we are unable to provide, we are losing the business from these people."

Nia Hao, which opened in 2016, said it plans to focus on wine and sake, but would also have a variety of cocktails.

The restaurant said its normal hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with possible later weekend times. It is applying for a license to serve alcohol from 11 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. every day to give it flexibility.

The request stated Nia Hao would make sure noise is not an issue for neighbors. The restaurant said it would keep music and other sounds to a reasonable volume as the night gets late.

The council's Public Safety Committee plans to take up the issue at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.