With A-1 license, full-service restaurants with video gaming licenses can sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption | Stock photo
Under a Class A-1 license, full-service restaurants with gaming licenses can sell alcohol for consumption on the premises
July 18, 2023 | By Francia Garcia Hernandez
The village of Maywood amended its local business regulations for alcoholic beverages to create a business license dedicated to “full service restaurants with gaming licenses” to allow for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises.
With the creation of this new business license, the village aims to stop issuing liquor licenses to video gaming cafes or bistros which would typically receive a Class M license. The ordinance stated the village will not issue any new Class M (Video Gaming Café/Bistro) licenses after July 31. Existing Class M licenses existing on July 31 may continue to operate and may be renewed until the license terminates due to the closure of the establishment or termination by the village based on village code provisions.
In a special board meeting on July 11, the village board voted on an ordinance that amended certain provisions of Chapter 117 (Alcoholic Beverages) of Title XI (Business Regulations) of the Liquor Control Ordinance in Maywood.
A new subsection A-1 was proposed to create a business license, Class A-1, for full-service restaurants with video gaming licenses to be able to sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption. Under the Class A-1 license, restaurants must first meet all of the requirements for a Class A liquor license established by the village and must have a video gaming license issued by the Illinois Gaming Board.
Alcohol can be consumed in the entire licensed premises, but there must be a designated gaming area separate from tables meant for food services and video gaming terminals cannot operate during the hours when alcohol cannot be sold.
The ordinance also limits the proximity of businesses with a Class A-1 license, stating that no Class A-1 license may be issued to an establishment that is located within 1,000 feet of any other establishment with an A-1 license. The annual cost of the Class A-1 license is $3,100 for regular closing hours and $3,400 for extended closing hours.
Class M licenses have been issued to video gaming cafes or bistros to allow the sale of beer and wine only. These licenses restrict businesses from selling beer and wine in pitchers or in package sales. They also require that businesses have a video gaming license issued by the Illinois Gaming Board and that the gaming terminals are located in an area separate from tables meant for food service.
The ordinance also modified the definition of a full-service restaurant in Chapter 117 to include any restaurants that provide services to patrons through technology. Under this new definition, a full-service restaurant “shall have a dining area for patrons to eat meals and patrons are attended by a full-service waitstaff and/or through technology that simulates full-service waitstaff.” This definition continues to exclude fast food service operations and also continues to require that 60% of the gross income of the restaurant comes from food as a supplement to the service of liquor.
In other news, the Maywood Village Board unanimously voted to end the 180-day moratorium on the development, installation, construction and licensing of new barber shops, hair salons, nail shops, live music permits, pop-up retail stores, special event spaces, tobacco shops and fast-food restaurants in Maywood. With the village board’s approval of the ordinance, the moratorium ended on July 11, eight days before the date it was set to expire on July 19. As previously reported by the Village Free Press, in April, the village board approved a 45-day extension to the moratorium that was initially approved for 180 days while the village reviewed the village code to make any necessary amendments.
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