Gurnee gas station to be village's first to sell alcohol

The BP gas station at 350 N. Hunt Club Road will be the first in Gurnee to sell alcohol after the village board voted 4-2 this week to issue the business a liquor license.

Longtime trustees Cheryl Ross and Greg Garner voted against the plan.

"It's going to change our community, to what degree who's to say," Garner said. "We're opening the door and we're going to create a different identity for Gurnee."

Mayor Thomas Hood voted in favor of the plan along with trustees Kevin Woodside, Karen Thorstenson and Quin O'Brien. He disagreed with Garner.

"I find that throughout the community alcohol has been made readily available and I have a difficult time trying to distinguish between a facility like this and Cardinal Liquors or other places that are able to sell alcohol in town," Hood said.

Gurnee resident Art Stevens said he felt there are plenty of opportunities to buy liquor in the village and there doesn't need to be more.

"Everybody who wants a liquor license in the village of Gurnee should apply for one because they're going to get it because you're not going to stand in their way," Stevens told the board after the plan was approved Monday night.

In March, the village board, in a similarly close 4-3 vote, made it possible for gas stations to apply for a village liquor license. Under those rules, the gas station would need a convenience store with a commercial kitchen and must meet other requirements such as building size. The BP includes a convenience store and a Dunkin' Donuts which has a commercial kitchen.

Village staff will verify the location meets all the requirements of the new rule before the store is allowed to begin selling beer and wine, Village Administrator Patrick Muetz said.