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Record of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting – December 5, 2024

City Council — Thursday, December 5, 2024
BodyNaperville, Illinois
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, December 5, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
2:10

Good afternoon.

2:11

Welcome to the December 5th, 2024 Illinois Neighborville Liquor Commission meeting.

2:16

Uh roll call, please.

2:17

Worley?

2:18

Here.

2:19

Cherico.

2:19

Here.

2:20

Douglas.

2:21

Signorella.

2:22

Here.

2:23

Stolfer.

2:24

McGurry?

2:26

Here.

2:27

Our first order of business is public forum.

2:29

Is there anyone here to speak on an item that is not on the agenda?

2:33

If so, please raise your hand.

2:37

Seeing none.

2:39

Next item of the business is old or on the agenda, rather, is old business.

2:55

Commissioner Chericho.

2:58

Mr.

2:59

Mayor, make a motion to approve the Liquor Commission meeting minutes from October third, twenty twenty-four.

3:04

Second.

3:06

We have a motion from Commissioner Chericho, a second from Commissioner Coranda.

3:09

All those in favor sign aye.

3:11

Aye.

3:12

Opposed.

3:13

Motion passes.

3:34

And who do we have with us for Heinens?

3:39

Do you want to come up to the podium and present?

3:50

Thank you.

3:53

I'm Jeff Hynan with Heinens.

3:56

And here today to, as you mentioned, to have uh, I guess understand if we can get a permit that allows us to sell wine and beer both on premise and off prem wine, beer and spirits, both uh off premise and on premise.

4:19

And the the beer is done through beer taps served by one of our people.

4:27

The wine is a self-serve creuvenet, which is done with a reloadable card.

4:34

Um so that's how we do it.

4:45

It's an all four of our Chicago locations.

4:57

Commissioner Churico.

5:00

Yes, good to see you.

5:01

Looks like you guys are making some progress out there.

5:03

Slowly but surely.

5:06

A couple of questions on this.

5:07

So Marianos has a on-site consumption and then off-site, you know, package goods as well.

5:14

But they have a bar and a bartender who's basset trained.

5:19

But you won't have a bar.

5:21

No.

5:24

I think a big difference between us and and what I believe Marianos does is to your point, they're a bar.

5:33

Our store hours are much more limited.

5:36

We're eight to eight on Monday through Friday, and we're eight to seven on Saturday.

5:43

So it's not kind of a restaurant bar type thing.

5:49

The other thing is that we have no TVs.

5:52

This is the these both the beer and the wine creuvenes are really designed to allow people to sample a beer, sample a wine.

6:10

Uh as they shop.

6:12

But it's not a place where people hang out.

6:15

Um grocery stores don't typically, not where most people select to hang out.

6:20

It's surprising actually when I drive uh walk through and see how many people do it uh at the bar.

6:25

Uh but my question then becomes uh who monitors it is there a bass trained yeah the uh everybody who's gonna touch the beer taps or the the wine creven A is Basset trained, and we have uh wine and beer consultants on duty, so that they're there to monitor it.

6:47

And we on the beer, we have a two-glass minimum.

6:53

Two glass maximum.

6:55

Sign me up.

6:56

Yeah, right, exactly.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Liquor Licensing█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Public Safety███████████15%
Procedural██████████13%
Parks and Recreation█████████12%
Summary of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting – December 5, 2024

The Naperville Liquor Commission met on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 3:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Wehrli and adjourned at 3:52 PM. All seven commissioners were present. Key actions included unanimous approval of meeting minutes, a recommendation to the City Council regarding Heinen's request for a dispenser permit for Class G1 licensees, tabling of Naperville Sweat Lodge's liquor license application pending a site visit, approval of 2025 meeting dates, and acceptance of the 2024 annual report. Reports on BASSET training and DUI statistics were also received.

Consent Calendar

  • Approve Regular Meeting Minutes of October 3, 2024: Motion by Commissioner Chirico, seconded by Koranda, carried unanimously.
  • Approve 2025 Liquor Commission Meeting Dates: Motion by Chirico, seconded by Stauffer, carried unanimously.
  • Approve 2024 Liquor Commission Annual Report: Motion by Chirico, seconded by Douglas, carried unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Heinen's Request for Class G1 Dispenser Permit: Jeff Heinen presented a request for a text amendment to allow Class G1 licensees (grocery stores) to obtain a dispenser permit for on-premise wine and beer sales. He explained that Heinen's would not have a bar or TV, would enforce a two-glass maximum for beer, and use a reloadable card system for wine (1 oz, 3 oz, 5 oz pours). All staff serving alcohol would be BASSET trained. Commissioners asked about monitoring and operations. The commission unanimously voted to recommend the request to the City Council, with the expectation that the ordinance would be considered at the January 2025 council meeting.
  • Naperville Sweat Lodge Liquor License Request: Alex Loyfman and Maria Glukhova presented plans for a spa and wellness center at 1936 Springbrook Square, Lot #10, with a full restaurant, saunas, cold plunge, and lounges. They sought a Class B liquor license with a late-night permit. Commissioners raised questions about alcohol service areas, nudity restrictions, security, and the classification of the business (restaurant vs. spa). Commissioner Chirico noted the liquor code prohibits nudity where alcohol is served. After discussion, Commissioner Chirico moved to table the item until the February 2025 Liquor Commission meeting, allowing commissioners to visit existing Chicago locations (Chicago Bath House and Chicago Sweatlodge) for a better understanding. The motion passed 6-0.

Reports

  • BASSET Statistics for October–November 2024: Detective Creighton reported October: 54 in-person students, 8 online renewals; November: 66 in-person, 9 online renewals.
  • DUI Report for September 2024: Detective Creighton presented data showing 10 DUIs in September 2024, down from 15 in September 2023.
  • Liquor Concept Committee Report for October–November 2024: Budget and Administrative Manager Ozkaptan reported that the committee discussed concepts for Cheesecake Factory (Class B), Heinen's (Class G1 with supplemental permit), Maria's Euros (Class A, existing), Naperville Sweat Lodge (Class B), Ryzen Byte Cafe (Class A, existing), and Shake Shack (Class A, future). Applications have been issued for all except Naperville Sweat Lodge.

Key Outcomes

  • Heinen's dispenser permit: Recommended to City Council (unanimous vote).
  • Naperville Sweat Lodge: Tabled until February 2025 Liquor Commission meeting (vote 6-0).
  • Meeting dates and annual report approved unanimously.
  • Note: Commissioner Koranda noted that the April 3, 2025 meeting date falls during spring break; staff will consider adjusting.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Welcome to the December 5th, 2024 Illinois Neighborville Liquor Commission meeting. Uh roll call, please. Worley? Here. Cherico. Here. Douglas. Signorella. Here. Stolfer. McGurry? Here. Our first order of business is public forum. Is there anyone here to speak on an item that is not on the agenda? If so, please raise your hand. Seeing none. Next item of the business is old or on the agenda, rather, is old business. Commissioner Chericho. Mr. Mayor, make a motion to approve the Liquor Commission meeting minutes from October third, twenty twenty-four. Second. We have a motion from Commissioner Chericho, a second from Commissioner Coranda. All those in favor sign aye. Aye. Opposed. Motion passes. And who do we have with us for Heinens? Do you want to come up to the podium and present? Thank you. I'm Jeff Hynan with Heinens. And here today to, as you mentioned, to have uh, I guess understand if we can get a permit that allows us to sell wine and beer both on premise and off prem wine, beer and spirits, both uh off premise and on premise. And the the beer is done through beer taps served by one of our people. The wine is a self-serve creuvenet, which is done with a reloadable card. Um so that's how we do it. It's an all four of our Chicago locations. Commissioner Churico. Yes, good to see you. Looks like you guys are making some progress out there. Slowly but surely. A couple of questions on this. So Marianos has a on-site consumption and then off-site, you know, package goods as well. But they have a bar and a bartender who's basset trained. But you won't have a bar. No. I think a big difference between us and and what I believe Marianos does is to your point, they're a bar. Our store hours are much more limited. We're eight to eight on Monday through Friday, and we're eight to seven on Saturday. So it's not kind of a restaurant bar type thing. The other thing is that we have no TVs.

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