Club Energy to open without liquor license

The owners of the new Club Energy in Antioch want to serve liquor, but village officials aren’t ready to approve a liquor license and want the business to open in late July without one.

One option the village board might consider is granting special use liquor licenses up to four times per year, and be open to expanding that number if there are no problems with the business.

“If there is a need we will take a look at that and change it,” Trustee James Jozwiak said Thursday, adding that from his point of view, if Club Energy becomes a problem the village can stop granting special use liquor licenses. “It’s much harder to revoke a liquor license once it’s given.”

At Wednesday’s committee of the whole meeting, residents and village board members raised concerns that Club Energy’s original business plan to operate a family center and teen club would diminish with a liquor license.

Another concern is if Club Energy goes out of business, the liquor license would go to the new owner of the building at 1350 Main St. That would make it hard to regulate, officials said.

“I think to provide another liquor license for something that may very well turn into another bar is not something that will differentiate Antioch from the surrounding communities, where a family club and a family-oriented business with a teen club is something that is different and we can support that and make that successful,” Antioch Hills resident John Heden told the committee.

Club Energy General Manager Peter Georgiades said he would sign an agreement stating he won’t give the liquor license away if he had to sell the building.

“We are OK with us signing off that we wouldn’t sell our liquor license if we had to sell out. I have no intentions on selling. I’m here to make this work and be successful,” Georgiades said.

However, officials said the state liquor code says the liquor license goes with the building once it has been sold to a new owner.

Many ideas were pitched regarding possible solutions for Club Energy, such as creating a Class M liquor license, which is a multiuse facility liquor license to be written for Club Energy’s use only, officials said.

Georgiades plans to reapply for a liquor license in September.

He said he believes the club needs a liquor license to be successful.

“I feel like we are not really being competitive to other people that have a full license and I just want what other people have to run my business as equal,” he said.