New O'Hare liquor hours no threat to Rosemont bars

Rosemont officials don't believe their village's bars and restaurants are under any business threat from an imminent middle-of-the-night pushcart service selling liquor at O'Hare International Airport nearby.

"I don't think that would affect us," Rosemont Chamber of Commerce Director Pamela Hogan said.

A spokesman for Mayor Bradley Stephens' office said there are no plans to extend the village's liquor license hours beyond the current 4 a.m. cutoff.

Liquor service at O'Hare is generally available only to ticket-holding passengers awaiting planes, the spokesman added.

Hogan said patrons going for drinks at hotel and restaurant bars in the village represent a different segment of the O'Hare-area market. The new service at the airport would largely benefit passengers arriving early for early morning flights, she said.

Hogan added that businesses around the airport have never felt themselves to be in competition with those inside the airport.

"They all work so well together," she said.

New Chicago regulations make a round-the-clock pushcart service available to restaurants and bars that already have a liquor license at O'Hare. These businesses must currently refrain from selling alcohol between 2 and 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and between 3 and 10 a.m. on Sundays.