BYOB requires liquor license in Lombard

Lombard restaurants that don't serve alcohol but want to allow customers to bring their own liquor will have to apply for a license under a village code update approved Thursday night.

The update prohibits food handlers from allowing alcohol to be consumed on premises without a liquor license, regardless of whether the customer or the business provided the alcohol.

There aren't any eateries without liquor licenses that allow customers to bring their own alcoholic beverages, but if an establishment wants to begin allowing BYOB, its license application would have to be approved by the village board, Village President Bill Mueller said.

Village Attorney Tom Bayer said that's because the number of liquor licenses permitted in Lombard is always set at the number currently held by restaurants and bars.

Trustee Peter Breen said giving liquor licenses to restaurants that want to allow BYOB would be another way to “continue as a business-friendly village.”