Oak Park Liquor Laws To Change

Customers wanting to just have a drink in Oak Park are confined to imbibing at the bar unless they want to have something to eat.

That’s about to become a thing of the past as Oak Park trustees Monday unanimously gave tentative approval to in liquor laws that will help restaurants expand their revenue and allow non-profits to bolster their bottom lines.

Formal approval is expected July 18.

When they go into effect in early August, customers can sit anywhere in a restaurant with a bar and have that drink without ordering food. Restaurants will still have the discretion of regulating where they might serve alcohol without food, Village Clerk Teresa Powell said.

Food still must be 60 percent of a restaurant’s proceeds, Powell said.

Theater groups also will be able to serve beer and wine to patrons before the curtain goes up and during intermission at matinée and evening performances, mirroring practices that have taken place for years at venues in Chicago, New York City and elsewhere.

In addition, at the request of some businesses interested in expanding their operations, packaged liquor could be sold at more than one establishment in a particular business district.

Those sales would have to be part of the overall business operations, Powell said.

The rule changes have been under consideration since June 2010 when trustees asked the Liquor Control Review board to assess if any changes were warranted. The public weighed in earlier this year.

Other changes may be in the offing this fall as the will conduct a public hearing at 7:30 July 12 at Village Hall, 123 Madison St.

A list of proposed changes to be discussed next week is attached.