Arlington Heights weighing code changes to accommodate Starbucks

Food and alcohol commonly go together. Now Arlington Heights is re-examining just how they should be mixed in a public venue.

Village officials are looking into possible changes in the town's liquor code, sparked by a Starbucks' request to serve beer and wine, along with a separate inquiry about cocktail bars.

The Starbucks at 1802 N. Arlington Heights Road is seeking a "Class E" liquor license, which permits the sale of beer and wine at restaurants for consumption on the premises.

It hopes to join the growing list of suburban Starbucks offering craft beer and wine, along with small plate food items, under a concept known as "Starbucks Evenings." About 50 Starbucks in Illinois have received liquor licenses, including locations in Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Buffalo Grove and Schaumburg.

But Arlington Heights officials say Starbucks does not meet their requirements for Class E license because it lacks a kitchen and does not serve meals regularly.

The village board is looking at possible changes to the liquor code to accommodate the request.

Village Manager Randy Recklaus said trustees want staff to research what surrounding towns are doing and how their liquor codes differ Arlington Heights' regulations. That research will likely come back before the board in a couple of weeks.

The issue is broader than Starbucks, since the village needs to determine whether it wants to permit businesses that are not full-service restaurants to serve liquor. Earlier this week, the village received a request about allowing a cocktail bar with a limited menu of appetizer-like food items.

Mayor Thomas Hayes said he supports Starbucks' concept, since it would be selling a small amount of alcohol - 1 to 2 percent of sales - while the primary business would remain coffee. A cocktail bar, however, would raise concerns.

"Clearly our philosophy has always been that alcohol had to be incidental to the sale of food," he said. "That's my continued position and philosophy for the sale of alcohol in the village of Arlington Heights. If it is going to advertise itself as a cocktail bar, where people just primarily come in to get a cocktail, I'm not in favor of it. I'm not in favor of those types of establishments in the village of Arlington Heights."

Trustees said they have to be careful about potential liquor code changes because they would affect more businesses than just Starbucks.

"We're not making an ordinance based on just Starbucks. We're making it based on businesses in Arlington Heights," Trustee John Scaletta said. "I just want to caution us ... to make sure that we're not making a decision based on one business alone and that being Starbucks."