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St. Charles convenience store seeking liquor license

As an opening date draws nearer for Gordy's Quick Mart, operators of the downtown St. Charles convenience store are seeking the city's approval to sell packaged alcohol.

The store will be stocked with groceries, toiletries, supplies and "anything you could go to Jewel for" when it begins operating this summer at 101 E. Main St., Manager Terri Simic said. Deli sandwiches, hot foods and other takeout items also will be served.

"We wanted to put in force a plan or an idea of a store that's going to benefit St. Charles (and) the local residents," Simic told city aldermen last week. "It's going to be an upscale establishment, definitely, from the inside out."

Gordy's has been undergoing renovations and is expected to open in late July or early August, Police Chief James Keegan said. Before that, the city council will decide whether to grant the store a liquor license.

Aldermen acting as a committee last week unanimously supported Simic's request to sell alcohol, which must be packaged and cannot be consumed on-site. Alcohol sales would be limited to no more than 10 percent of the establishment's square footage, according to city code.

"The liquor license we're applying for would just be a small part of what we're doing, but would definitely be a benefit for our store," Simic said.

Alcohol will only be sold at Gordy's from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., though the establishment's hours extend beyond that time frame. Simic said the store plans to install a system that ensures liquor products can't be rung up outside those hours.

A door leading from the store, a former Starbucks, to the foyer of the adjacent Arcada Theatre has been sealed off so patrons won't try sneaking in alcohol, she added.

A few tables also will be placed outside for customers who want to read a newspaper, drink their coffee or eat their lunch, Simic said. Alcohol cannot be consumed at those seats.

Though it won't be available immediately, Gordy's also intends to create an online app that allows residents to have grocery and takeout food items delivered, Simic said. Between that service and the establishment's downtown location, she said, she hopes to cater to senior residents, parents with young children and anyone else in need of a convenient store option.

"We're trying to think of everything," she said.

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