Elgin wants to limits sales of alcohol downtown
Elgin is clamping down on alcohol sales downtown to stem homeless loitering and public indecency.
That's bad news for some business owners.
Alex Matsas and Alexander T. Giannopoulos wanted to lease and reopen Nick's Liquors at 71 Clock Tower Plaza but were turned down by the liquor control commission Wednesday at the recommendation of Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley.
The commission, whose members comprise the entire city council, also decided single servings of alcohol such as single cans of beer and "mini" alcohol bottles won't be sold at stores downtown anymore. Sales are already prohibited at CVS on Dundee Avenue and RAM Food on Chicago Street.
Matsas, who owns Walnut Speakeasy, tried to reassure commissioners, saying he'd "chase out" homeless customers and "price point them out." He offered to change the store name at a cost of up to $5,000 to change the sign.
"Nick was selling his stuff very inexpensive and he was nice to those people, and they hung around," Matsas said.
"I think a lot of people don't realize this is America, and when you're the business owner, you have the right to refuse whoever you want."
The building that housed Nick's Liquors is owned by Butera Market next door, and the proposed new lease included paying $64,000 in back rent. The former owner also owes about $22,000 in alcohol sales taxes to the city, and paying that back could have been added as a condition to the new liquor license.
"I appreciate what you're saying," Councilman Terry Gavin said. "But you're asking us to trust you, and we've done that before and we've gotten burned," he said, referring to the now-closed Smooth Fox bar, whose patrons caused several disturbances despite that owner's assurances he'd keep order.
Councilman Corey Dixon agreed. "I have no doubt you guys would do a great job running this location," he said, "but man, is your timing bad."
There's been a marked decrease in police calls related to alcohol and other nuisances since Nick's Liquors closed. In that area, "it went from very busy to almost nonexistent," Sgt. Jim Lalley said.
The stricter approach also affected the owners of JJ Peppers at 10 S. State St., whose request to sell hard liquor in addition to beer and wine was denied.
Co-owners James Sayre and John Deruz said they let people use the store bathroom so they won't urinate in public. They also readily cooperate with police, they said.
"We just want to be part of the solution, not the problem," Sayre said. "It's not fair to us to limit us to something that everybody seems to have."
JJ Peppers is across from the Metra station, and attracting vagrants can negatively affect commuters, Mayor David Kaptain pointed out. "It's time for us to step up," he said.
The police department issued 111 violations for open alcohol through late May, the vast majority in the downtown area, Cogley said. Last year's total was 195, so this year is on pace to hit a record of about 250, he said.
About 80 percent of public intoxication takes place downtown, much of it related to single containers of alcohol, Cogley said.
Councilwomen Tish Powell and Carol Rauschenberger were absent Wednesday. All the measures need final approval from the city council.