Farmers markets are returning to the northern suburbs for the summer, and this time, they’re bringing beer.
In preparation for the upcoming farmers market season, the Skokie Village Board and Park Ridge City Council are taking steps to allow the sale of alcohol at their markets. Neither will allow onsite drinking, but offering samples is welcome.
Park Ridge’s market will open on June 1 and continue on Saturdays; Skokie’s will set up on June 2 and run Sundays. Park Ridge is starting a new feature, monthly Market After Dark events, that will run four times from June to September.
Both municipalities completed the first hurdle in creating a new type of liquor license for their respective farmers markets at their respective meetings on May 20.
Under Skokie’s provisional ordinance, locally produced spirits, beer, and wine can be sold in sealed containers. Vendors must pay for a $500 liquor license and a Skokie Farmers Market booth.
Park Ridge’s ordinance, which was approved by its City Council on May 20, created a new liquor license for events held by the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Market After Dark events and the Wine Walk and Winterfest. The license also costs $500.
The Market After Dark event, a spin-off from the morning Farmers Market in Park Ridge, is advertised as offering a variety of food, art vendors and entertainment. The beer, wine and spirits will also be locally produced, according to the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
Both farmers markets will allow customers to sample a beverage but vendors will have to follow strict state guidelines on how much a person can be served in a sample and where they can sample it. Vendors must also earn Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training, which is regulated by the state.
The Skokie Farmers Market will run weekly until November 3. The Market will operate from 7:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. at 5127 Oakton Street, Skokie.
The Park Ridge Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the end of October at 15 Prairie Avenue, Park Ridge.
Park Ridge’s Market After Hours will start June 22 and run on the last Saturday of the month through Sept. 28. The event will be from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 15 Prairie Avenue, Park Ridge.
