Naperville City Council members are wary of upping beer serving sizes despite knowing that without some leeway on the city’s pour limits, a large dining and entertainment development in the works since 2022 could be in jeopardy.
New York-based Brixmor Property Group, developer for the proposed Block 59 complex, asked the council this week for two changes to alcohol serving caps that it says are consequential to Block 59’s success: an increase to the maximum serving size of wine from 6 to 9 ounces to benefit Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and the allowance of 32-ounce pours of draft beer/cider for Yard House.
The council had no problem with the former request, but the possibility of larger beer servings prompted pushback and concern from the dais. Qualms ranged from the increased limits being at odds with Naperville’s reputation to changing stipulations for the whole city for the sake of one development.
Ultimately, council members voted unanimously to allow 9-ounce wine servings but sent the question over beer serving sizes back to city staff for more research. The item is expected to return March 5 for council consideration.
Brixmor remains confident a resolution can be found that’s agreeable to all parties, property director Andrew Balzer said in a call Thursday.
Serving size changes would apply only to Class B licensees, or restaurants that have customer bars in them, according to Naperville city attorney Mike DiSanto.
Currently, there are 100 Class B licensees in the city, 33 of which are located downtown, DiSanto said. That does not include those proposed for Block 59.
Last week, Brixmor went to the Naperville Liquor Commission for a review of its requests on behalf of two restaurants/bars. Commissioners, like the council members, unanimously supported an increased wine serving size but were divided on beer limitations. The latter was narrowly recommended for council approval with a 3-2 vote.
The crux of Brixmor’s appeal is that tenants planning to open in the Block 59 complex, proposed for the northeast corner of Route 59 and Aurora Avenue, will cancel their leases if they are unable to serve what they sell at their other locations, which would be the case under the current city code.
Yard House’s “Half Yard” — a 32-ounce beer — is part of their corporate brand identity and served at all their restaurants, Balzer said.
But if they’re unable to operate within their national brand standards, they would have the choice “not to operate within the development or the town,” he said.
Under Naperville Municipal Code, 24 ounces of beer and cider is the maximum serving size allowed.
Apart from concerns that beer limitations alone would prompt a tenant to pull out, there’s also the risk that if one goes, another would follow.
“In a development like Block 59, there’s a certain class of restaurant” that fills out complex space, Balzer said. “It is very common practice for a tenant that’s a polished quality tenant, like Yard House or The Cheesecake Factory, to name specific tenants that if they are not in that development, then they have the right to leave. So that you don’t replace them with a lower quality type of restaurant than what they intended being a co-tenant with.”
Brixmor plans to start demolition of existing buildings on the site in April so redevelopment can begin, he said. With that start date, the first Block 59 openings could be in summer 2025 and most, if not all, could be completed by later that summer or fall.
As of this week, Block 59 has 10 signed leases and another three are in the negotiations stage, Balzer said. That leaves two spots — one building and one smaller space — remaining before the complex is filled.
“I’m excited where we’re at,” he said. “We’ve been planning and working on this project for a long time. … I think it’s a development that the city of Naperville will be proud of.”
Some options the council discussed in regards to altering the beer serving limitation include capping the larger pour to one 32-ounce serving per patron; setting a time, such as 10 p.m. or two hours before closing, to stop serving the larger size; and limiting the kinds of beers offered for the 32-ounce pour to those with a lower alcohol content.
Staff will research those options and others for the council’s next discussion on the subject.
Balzer said he thinks he “heard a lot of options that would probably be acceptable” but that he couldn’t speak for tenants.