As the owner of the Marathon gas station at the corner of Lewis and Lloyd avenues hopes to sell his business and retire, the value of the enterprise rests with the Waukegan City Council.
Along with pumping gasoline, the service station is also a convenience store with a license to sell wine, beer and any other alcoholic beverages. In 2018, the city put a limit on such licenses, and no more will be issued.
Ald. Jose A. Guzman, 2nd Ward, is trying to carve out an exception for the transaction and others like it in the future, but so far he has been unable to garner enough support among his colleagues to make it happen. He is uncertain of the status of the transaction.
“He’s had the business for a long time and wants to retire,” Guzman said. “Without this change, the new owner can only sell beer and wine. The owner wants to sell the business just like it is.”
The council’s Committee of the Whole postponed a vote on the amended ordinance until at least Nov. 18 Monday at City Hall, which could delay the sale of the business until at least early December.
Though unfamiliar with the terms of the deal, Guzman said after the council meeting that the value of the business may hinge on whether the sale of alcoholic beverages will be limited to beer and wine, or include all varieties of drinks.
“Right now, the buyer can only get an F-1,” he said, referring to the beer and wine license. “He needs a C-1,” he added, referring to the broader permit of which no more can be issued.
Stewart Weiss, an attorney with corporation counsel Elrod Friedman, said at the committee meeting when a business with a liquor license is sold, the license ceases to exist. A new owner must seek his or her own permit from the city. The council must approve all new liquor licenses.
“A liquor license can’t be transferred,” Weiss said. “It would be like transferring my driver’s license to my daughter. It’s a personal privilege.”
Ald. Edith Newsome, who was not present Monday, said at the Sept. 16 Committee of the Whole meeting a decision was made in 2018 to prevent any additional liquor sales at gas stations. The only member of the legislative body serving then, she said they wanted to eventually end the practice.
“It was too many and we were finding those little pints all over the property, all over the neighborhood, behind the gas stations,” Newsome said on Sept. 16. “People would get them, go behind the gas stations and drink them and leave them.”
If the ordinance as it is currently written is approved, the City Council can no longer allow liquor licenses for any beverage other than beer or wine when there is a transfer of a business. The procedure would be handled by members of the city staff.
Now Weiss said, that if a business is sold where a liquor license is involved, the total number allowed is reduced by one. The new owner would then seek a new license, and the council has the opportunity to vote to increase the total number.
Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward, said it is imperative the council have the final say on the issuances of all liquor licenses even if there is a special provision not to reduce the number of authorizations approved.
“We are the ones who are responsible and have to answer to the people,” Hayes said. “We should have the final say. I don’t want to put this on staff. They would be ripe for undue pressure, and I don’t want to put that on our employees.”
The council unanimously voted to postpone the vote until the Nov. 18 Committee of the Whole meeting while the ordinance is rewritten.
Attempts to reach the seller and buyer of the gas station were unsuccessful.
