Carpentersville makes it easier to buy alcohol on Sundays
If you’re interested in buying a case of beer in Carpentersville on Sundays, you no longer have to wait until 10 a.m. to do it.
The village board this week amended that restriction to let people buy liquor after 6 a.m. Sundays, just like they can the rest of the week. The change, effective immediately, applies to alcohol sold at six grocery stores, five gas stations, four liquor stores and two drugstores.
“I just thought it was a silly rule to have in place,” Trustee Kevin Rehberg said of the previous policy. “When people are lining up to spend money, I don’t think the government should be standing in the way of that.”
Rehberg has lived in Carpentersville 14 years and always knew the law was no alcohol sales before 10 a.m. Sundays.
About a month ago when he went to buy beer at Woodman’s on Randall Road, he joined a long line of people that was waiting more than 10 minutes before he could purchase alcohol.
“People checking out at 9:45 will wait 15 minutes, but people who come earlier won’t,” Rehberg said, pointing out that Woodman’s is open 24 hours a day. “I want to make Carpentersville as business-friendly as possible.”
Several months before his visit to the grocery store, Rehberg and other trustees met with Clint Woodman, vice president of the grocery chain, to discuss rolling back the village’s 2-cent gas tax since the company also operates a gas station. Rehberg said he also asked the grocer whether an earlier start time for liquor sales would assist the business.
“We told them that it would definitely help with sales,” Woodman said. “(Most) of our other stores open up at 8 a.m. on Sundays.”
Alcohol sales at Woodman’s in Carpentersville will start at 8 a.m. Sundays, effective Jan. 19.
In neighboring Algonquin, similar establishments sell alcohol after 7 a.m. Sundays, said Michael Kumbera, the assistant to the village manager.
West Dundee regulates it a different way.
While stores sell booze after 10 a.m. Sundays, gas stations don’t sell until after noon, Village Manager Joseph Cavallaro said.
While Woodman’s generates the most sales tax for Carpentersville, money was never the motivation behind the switch, Village President Ed Ritter said.
“It’s a convenience to our residents is the only reason that we even did it,” Ritter said. “This way, you can get your supplies before game time and be ready for the game to start, or anything else you might want to do on a Sunday.”