Outdoor dining licenses will cost up to $1,500 in Mundelein
A long-simmering plan to charge restaurateurs and food truck operators for setting up on public streets and sidewalks in Mundelein has been finalized - and the bill isn't cheap.
But like some restaurants' early-bird discounts and two-for-one deals, reductions will be possible.
License fees for interested restaurants will start at $500 and cost an additional 15 cents per gross square foot of outdoor public space used. The fee will be capped at $1,500 annually.
Licenses for food trucks and carts associated with Mundelein restaurants will cost $150 each year, while businesses without brick-and-mortar locations in Mundelein will have to pony up $350.
Space used won't affect the fees for food trucks and carts.
Business owners may apply for fee reductions or waivers. It'll be up to the village board to grant or deny such requests.
The board unanimously approved the fee structures Monday night - seven months after voting to launch the licensing program.
Officials held off on establishing fees to study the matter further and talk with merchants who will be affected.
The program follows two seasons of outdoor dining on Park Street in downtown Mundelein. Like similar programs in other towns, it was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Portable barriers close the road to cars, allowing Area Coffee, Tina G's and the Park Street Restaurant - the eateries on the block - to serve customers at tables and chairs on the roadway.
No other Mundelein streets have been shut down for outdoor dining.
The revenue from the licenses is supposed to help offset the village's costs for garbage collection, installing and watering plants, installing signs and other associated services, officials have said.
For the Park Street area, they come to about $20,500 annually, documents indicate.