Mixed drinks sold on a “to-go” basis are now allowed in Carpentersville under an ordinance change meant to generate more money for bars and restaurants and more sales tax for the village.
“This is simply about providing our local restaurants with another tool to help them be successful,” Village Manager John O’Sullivan said.
The amended ordinance gives restaurants and taverns with class D and E liquor licenses to sell sealed, mixed drinks for off-premises consumption if they meet the requirements of the local and state laws, O’Sullivan said.
It’s similar to the temporary rule change the village approved during the COVID-19 pandemic giving restaurants permission to sell package liquor. That provision expired three years ago.
The change was spurred by a restaurant in town asking the village to consider altering the ordinance, O’Sullivan said. At the same time, village officials learned another restaurant was illegally selling drinks to-go in unauthorized containers, he said.
“We requested and received that restaurant’s cooperation to refrain from doing so while we considered all the options,” O’Sullivan said. “The restaurant saw a sharp decline in sales when the village enforced its regulations.”
The restaurant’s owner said customers loved the option, and both businesses told village officials that they believed a to-go sales option would help generate revenue for them, he said.
“It seemed we needed to meet market demand while addressing public safety concerns,” O’Sullivan said. “We also wanted to ensure that the rules were the same for all restaurants with liquor licenses so that we were not favoring one establishment over another.”
Trustees approved the amended ordinance last week to give businesses “an opportunity to sell a mixed drink, with a food order, in a tamper-evident container to customers and in compliance with Illinois state law,” O’Sullivan said.
A recent state law gives restaurants and bars the right to sell sealed alcoholic drinks if local liquor license ordinances allow it.
There are certain requirements mandated under the state law. Beverages must be in sealed containers that can be seen to have not been opened after the time of the sale; must be transported by the customer or a delivery person in the trunk of their vehicle; must accompany a food purchase; and must be labeled with ingredients and the date of packaging.
Carpentersville officials also added a limit of four drinks per order and each drink cannot exceed 12 ounces.
The village’s amended ordinance is “more rigid than the law on transporting packaged liquor from a liquor store,” O’Sullivan said. “We want people to enjoy a specialty beverage with their carryout meal. We are not looking for restaurants to become large-scale liquor stores.”
There are 16 restaurants in the village with Class D liquor licenses and three restaurants/taverns with Class E liquor licenses to which the new ordinance will apply.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
