Two businessmen looking to bring a special cigar lounge to Park Ridge – and allow patrons to bring their own alcohol into the establishment – got an early nod from the City Council even though city leaders would have to figure out how to structure a liquor license.
Speaking to the council at its meeting Monday, Seventh Floor Hospitality Group owner Louis Morgan and his business partner, Corey Singleton, expounded on a special license request they would have to make that would allow patrons to not only bring their own bottles – BYOB – of wine and beer, but also spirits to the businessmen’s proposed lounge, The Embassy.
“They had an idea of how they wanted to structure the liquor license and it really didn’t fit with any of our license categories,” Mayor Marty Maloney told the council, explaining that he wanted to get input from aldermen before having the city attorney deal with either amending the current liquor license ordinances or creating a new class.
Morgan and Singleton want to open The Embassy at 626 Busse Highway in the north suburb. They both described the establishment as a high-end, luxury cigar bar that would have retail and membership components.
The pair have a similar, if larger, cigar lounge of the same name in south suburban Flossmoor.
Park Ridge currently grants BYOB licenses that allow patrons to bring beer into establishments. Usually, the license is granted to restaurants that do not serve alcohol, though Maloney noted some hair salons allow patrons to bring in beer while they’re being serviced.
But the two owners of Seventh Floor Hospitality Group said they want their cigar lounge to be different, allowing harder alcohol. They explained that workers would not pour the alcohol for patrons.
“Because this will require some legal work, I want council to weigh in on it,” said Maloney.
While the presentation from Morgan and Singleton was on the meeting agenda, there was no binding, actionable measure for the council to consider. The City Council’s discussion was only that – a discussion. There was a show of hands vote on whether the council favored having the city’s legal team look into the licensing, and with two aldermen absent, all in attendance said yes.
Maloney said should this license be created, which could be an amendment to the current BYOB rules or establishment of a new class, anyone could apply for it. However, requestors would still need City Council approval.
“We could say no, to limit the number [of the special licenses granted], but on the surface we’re not just doing it for these guys,” the mayor said.
Singleton said patrons would be able to bring in drinks and members would be able to store bottles onsite. He said staff would not serve the drinks.
“We will not pour,” he assured the council. “Members and patrons will pour.”
The building where The Embassy would be located is a two-story one – formerly a financial services office. The first floor would sell cigars and allow anyone to stop by, buy a cigar and have a smoke. The second floor, however, will be for members and provide a place to socialize, the owners explained.
Still, the whole business will be based around tobacco sales and smoking. The Embassy would likely never be allowed to sell alcohol or food. The majority of its profits have to come from tobacco products in order to allow smoking.
“You cannot smoke indoors if less than 80% of your sales come from tobacco,” said Morgan.
He said that patrons would be able to get food through such services as Uber Eats and Door Dash. Also, the cigar lounge would likely partner with a local restaurant “to be our main source of food for guests,” he said.
Council members had a myriad of questions, ranging from business aesthetics and parking, to ventilation and more.
Alderperson Joseph Steinfels asked whether anyone could bring in a drink and Morgan said they could, though only members could store a beverage on site. Members would also be able to store cigars in addition to their bottles.
The memberships start at $10,000 for a lifetime membership, $2,500 for a year or a month-to-month fee.
Morgan and Singleton said they anticipate having a few dozen customers at any one time during the week, and up to 70 in the lounge on the weekend. Membership would be capped at 125.
Should the city come up with a licensing solution, the mayor explained, the business owners’ request would still have to follow the city’s process for approval, including going before the Liquor License Review Board
“You’ll hear from our legal department very soon,” the mayor told them, laughing and assuring that the declaration wasn’t an ominous one.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
