Des Plaines mayor wants to roll back 4 a.m. liquor licenses
Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan said this week city officials won't be granting any more 4 a.m. liquor licenses, and would like to eliminate all such licenses in town.
Yet the city cannot get rid of the four licenses already in existence unless the licensee applies for a change of ownership, Moylan said.
"We can't do them on renewal. You just got to do it when they change hands," Moylan said.
The city council Monday night did just that, voting 5-4 to deny an application by Miner Street Tavern, 1492 Miner St., for a change of ownership on an existing 4 a.m. license.
Aldermen Matt Bogusz (3rd Ward), James Brookman (5th), Rosemary Argus (8th) and John Robinson (2nd) voted to deny the application. Aldermen Jean Higgason (4th), Mark Walsten (6th), Dan Wilson (7th), and Patti Haugeberg (1st) voted to grant the license.
Moylan broke the tie.
How late restaurants/bars should be allowed to serve alcohol has been debated in Des Plaines for years.
A few other Northwest suburbs allow drinking until 4 a.m. at limited establishments: Bartlett; Hoffman Estates; Prospect Heights; and Rosemont. A majority of suburbs limit their licenses to 2 a.m., with a few allowed to serve until 3 a.m.
If 4 a.m. licenses are eventually abolished, the latest taverns will be open in Des Plaines is 2 a.m. There are no 3 a.m. licenses.
The other three businesses that currently have a 4 a.m. license are Rand Road House, River Rand Bowl and Manzo's Banquet and Restaurant.
Moylan said it was the intent of the previous city council to eliminate 4 a.m. licenses altogether, which this council hopes to accomplish.
John Grammatis of Arlington Heights, one of the managers of Miner Street Tavern, said the business is owned by his father-in-law, and "he just wants to move it over to me to keep it in the family."
Grammatis said the tavern, which is open seven nights a week, is usually only open past 2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He tried to allay some of the aldermen's fears over drunken driving, saying most of his customers walk to the bar because they live in the nearby Metropolitan Square condominiums.
"I don't think we've had any complaints," Grammatis said. "We have two bouncers there. We train our bartenders, also."
Grammatis said his family has invested a lot into the business putting in an extensive surveillance system and is working on improving the facade with new french doors.
Higgason noted that the bar's management was always present to keep an eye on things.
"If this was a new family coming in and we were switching to someone totally different, I would be against a 4 a.m. license," she said. "This is the same family. There's nothing changing there."
Other aldermen were not swayed.
"I don't think that this town should be a 4 a.m. town," Bogusz responded.
Robinson, chair of the legal and licensing committee, said the issue is not about turning over the ownership.
"The issue is the proliferation of 4 a.m. license in Des Plaines," he said. "The city really wants to do away with 4 a.m. licenses as they come due."
Walsten said the city needs to be more business-friendly. He argued the Miner Street Tavern has had a 4 a.m. liquor license for more than a year so he didn't see any reason to deny it a license now.
"From what I understand, this has been a pretty well-received business in the community," Walsten said of the Miner Street Tavern. "There really hasn't been any problems down at this location."
Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini said he and the mayor spoke with the management of the tavern a few weeks ago about a series of disturbance calls from the bar, though he wasn't sure if they came in past 2 a.m.
"But we asked them to pay more attention to over-serving their patrons," Prandini said. "Personally I have a philosophical issue with 4 a.m. licenses as a whole as it pertains to our community."
With the denial, the business owners of Miner Street Tavern then decided not to move forward with the change of ownership so they could hold onto the license.
Last callHow late can you drink in the Northwest suburbs?*Arlington Heights: 3 a.m.Barrington: 2 a.m. Bartlett: 4 a.m.Buffalo Grove: 2 a.m.Des Plaines: 4 a.m.Elk Grove Village: 3 a.m.Hanover Park: 3 a.m. Hoffman Estates: 4 a.m.Mount Prospect: 2 a.m.Palatine: 3 a.m.Prospect Heights: 4 a.m.Rolling Meadows: 2 a.m.Rosemont: 4 a.m.Schaumburg: 3 a.m.Streamwood: 2 a.m.Wheeling: 2 a.m. * Not all establishments in a community have the latest possible deadline. Most stop serving at 2 a.m. - although several towns allow later drinking on New Year's Eve.Daily Herald Research