Dropping minimum age to serve alcohol could help businesses in Vernon Hills
Allowing 18-year-olds to serve alcohol in Vernon Hills restaurants could be a boon for employee-hungry businesses in town, proponents say.
As it stands, state law allows 18-year-olds to serve - under the supervision of someone 21 or older. But in Vernon Hills, the age has been 19.
The change, which is considered more a housekeeping matter, would broaden the employment pool for local food and liquor establishments that have been having difficulty finding employees, village officials say.
"We did get a couple of inquiries," said Village Manager Kevin Timony. "This will help our businesses, hopefully," he added.
The change would extend to wait staff but not bartenders.
The village board will consider the change at its regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday at village hall, 290 Evergreen Drive.
Why 19 is the limit in the village ordinance is a mystery that predates Mayor Roger Byrne, who has been in that post since 1993.
"We're not really sure what the origin was," Timony said.
In any case, restaurants and service-related businesses across the country are finding it tough to find workers in a recovering economy.
"I have talked to a few of them and they all seem to be doing well, and some cases very well," said Scott Adams, president/CEO of the GLMV (Green Oaks, Mundelein, Libertyville, Vernon Hills) Chamber of Commerce.
Finding staffers has been "a real problem." he added. Adams, who also is a Libertyville village trustee, experienced that firsthand over the weekend for the two-day Adler Arts Center/GLMV Festival of the Arts.
Adams said he hoped to book five food vendors for the event but could secure just three. Either they already were booked or couldn't participate because they didn't have enough employees to staff it, he said.
"Allowing 18-year-olds to serve will definitely help open the field a bit," said Brian Grano, owner of Mickey Finn's brewery in downtown Libertyville. He said his business was helped greatly this summer by many servers younger than 21.
In Long Grove, officials say restaurants and service-related businesses are seeking to fill dozens of openings to either remain open or operate at full capacity. The village organized a hospitality and food/beverage job fair Monday in response.