Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting – July 9, 2026
Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting – July 9, 2026
The Naperville Liquor Commission met on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 3:03 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Wehrli called the meeting to order and recognized Commissioner Signorella's last meeting with a certificate of appreciation. The commission addressed several significant items: a request to increase the downtown late night permit cap, a detailed presentation and discussion on kratom and synthetic 7-OH products leading to a recommendation for a local sales ban, routine reports, and a decision to schedule a future discussion on happy hour restrictions. The meeting adjourned at 4:36 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approve Meeting Minutes (March 16, 2026): Motion by Commissioner Signorella, seconded by Commissioner Kunzer, carried unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kevin Reed (Vice President of Operations, Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano and Ancho & Agave) spoke in favor of reconsidering Naperville's prohibition on happy hour promotions, citing statewide changes and improved safety technology. He asked the commission to open a discussion.
- Ashley Ware (Naperville resident and former user of Feel Free kratom drink) shared her personal story of addiction and severe withdrawal, describing the product as highly addictive and misleadingly marketed. She urged the commission to take action to protect the community.
- Alex Cochran (therapist, Fox Valley Institute) testified that he has treated kratom and 7-OH addiction firsthand, describing withdrawal symptoms similar to opioids and noting that in 18 months he had not seen a single successful completion of treatment for kratom use disorder.
- Ari Bernstein (clinical social worker, Linden Oaks/Endeavor Behavioral Health) presented data on kratom's psychoactive components, the rise of 7-OH and MP derivatives, and cases of patients requiring Suboxone and Narcan. He stated that 10–28% of patients in his partial hospitalization program are struggling with kratom-related opioid use disorder.
- Matt Cassity and Natasha Grover (360 Youth Services) discussed the impact on youth, noting that 1.2% of 12th graders reported past-year kratom use per the 2025 Monitoring the Future survey. They highlighted that 74% of teens do not buy alcohol but get it for free, and pointed to a 1,200% increase in kratom poison center calls from 2015 to 2025.
- Detective Matt Susnis (Naperville Police Department) recounted a near-fatal overdose involving kratom mixed with alcohol and noted the wide availability of untested products. He supported compliance checks.
Discussion Items
- Five Iron Golf – Increase Late Night Permit Cap: Petitioner Joseph DePalma presented the request for a late night permit for a golf simulator venue at 47 E. Chicago Ave, 2nd floor. The venue will have a full kitchen, bar, and require reservations. Commissioners discussed security, age restrictions (none), and operating hours until 1 AM on weekends. The commission voted 5-0 to approve and refer the request to City Council.
- Kratom/Feel Free Presentation and Regulation Discussion: Mayor Wehrli provided background on kratom, 7-OH, and the current local ordinance (sales prohibited under 21, possession under 18). Presentations and public testimony highlighted the dangers, including addiction, overdose, and misleading packaging. A late written comment from the Global Kratom Coalition (Alison Smith) was received after the deadline; the commission voted 5-0 to accept it into the record. The letter noted the DEA's July 6, 2026 notice of intent to schedule concentrated 7-OH products as Schedule I, while distinguishing traditional leaf. Commissioner Signorella initially moved to ban both 7-OH and all kratom products, withdrew it to allow the late comment, then renewed the motion. After discussion (Commissioner Chirico suggested regulation similar to cannabis), the motion passed 5-0 to refer an ordinance banning retail sale of 7-OH and all kratom products to City Council for an effective date to be determined.
- Happy Hour Discussion – Addition to Next Agenda: Following public comment from Kevin Reed, Commissioner Chirico moved to add a discussion on lifting Naperville's happy hour prohibition to the next Liquor Commission meeting. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote.
Reports
- DUI Reports (March–June 2026): Detective Creighton reported the following DUI arrests: March – 16 (vs. 23 in 2025), April – 14 (vs. 20), May – 27 (vs. 12), June – 22 (vs. 21). Naperville ranked 4th in the state for total DUI arrests (287 in 2025). No single establishment was identified as a source from arrest questionnaires.
- Tobacco Report: Detective Creighton announced two violations out of 84 licensees during the 3rd round of compliance checks (May 27–28, 2026).
- Local Liquor Law Essentials Class Statistics (March–June 2026): March – 40 attendees, April – 42, May – 79, June – 26 (to date).
- Liquor Concept Committee Report (March–June 2026): Budget and Administrative Manager Ozkaptan summarized concept meetings: Irish Fest (whiskey tastings, not proceeding), Tacoville Taco Fest (successful June event), Bowl of Biryani (opened), Guzman e Gomez (no longer in U.S.), 99 Ranch Market (Class G1, opening Dec 2026), Saliva's Indian Kitchen (Class B, obtaining occupancy), Cinnamon Pancake House (Class A), Cuisine of India (Class A, applying state license), Tokyo Shukudo (Class A, applying state license), and new ownership for Ogden Wine and Spirit (Class G1, anticipated opening Aug 31, 2026).
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes of March 16, 2026 (unanimous).
- Approved and referred to City Council (5-0) Five Iron Golf's request to increase the downtown late night permit cap by one.
- Voted 5-0 to accept the late written comment from the Global Kratom Coalition into the record.
- Approved and referred to City Council (5-0) an ordinance banning the retail sale of 7-OH and all kratom products, with effective date to be determined.
- Approved (unanimous voice vote) to add a discussion on happy hour restrictions to the next Liquor Commission meeting agenda.
- Reports were received and filed.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the July 9th, 2026 Liquor Commission meeting. Roll call. Here. Here. Before we move into public forum, I want to start by acknowledging the departure of one of our commissioners. This is his last meeting tonight. Well, at least three honorably. Are there any speakers registered? We have one speaker signed up to speak today. Hello. We can hear you. Go ahead. Could you just state your name for the record and uh who you represent? Yeah, my name's Kevin Ray, vice president of Operations for uh Biagis and Ancho and Agave. Uh we have two restaurants on Route 59 and uh currently let's see 14 restaurants uh Biagis around the country and uh seven Anchos around the country but we have one of each in Naperville because we love Naperville. Um I want to thank the mayor and the commissioners for giving us this time to to chat about something and um when we were inquiring about opening our Ancho Nagave concept uh we're uh surprised to learn that happy hour is something that's not prohibited in Naperville. Um we utilize a happy hour in all of our other units, 21 of them across the uh the country. Um and so for a little bit of history for anybody that doesn't know many many years ago Ellinois prohibited happy hour statewide and did that for a couple of decades in 2001 they rolled that law back um and every municipality except Naperville um adhered to their decision to roll that back with certain restrictions and guidelines. Uh only let's see 15 hours a week total of discounted happy hour time is permissible. It's not permissible after 10 o'clock at night only four hours a day. There are guardrails on uh on the statewide happy hour restrictions. Uh for us in Naperville it becomes a little bit um problematic because we're at a little bit of a disadvantage when we've got communities right next to us in Flamefield Oswego uh Aurora Wheaton Downer's Grove that all have um happy hours that are restricted as the state has has allowed for um and I I don't want to diminish for a second the community's respect for the public safety and and we take that responsibility very seriously as well. Um but things have changed over the the years the decades really technology's gotten better Ubers are ubiquitous um people understand what alcohol consumption does to them uh operators are better trained and our our employees are better trained um the technology in general and and by the way when the state outlawed the uh the happy hours originally the uh the legal limit was uh point one it's now point oh eight as everybody knows countrywide so things have changed over the decades and it's been ten years since the state has rolled back their restrictions on happy hours and I think this might be a good opportunity for Naperville to consider doing the same. Again, uh being responsible, protecting the public that's all of us as alcohol servers our number one priority but um I think we can do that safely and um I'd like to ask the commission to consider that or take up that discussion. Thank you Commissioner Sheriko thank you mayor uh yeah uh mayor and I were speaking about this you sent the letter in and by the way I think your um your comments were very well thought out and and your presentation was excellent especially just not reading enough of a script. Thank you. Uh um you know we we were we discussed about this a little bit and you know the with the workaround has been in Naperville that you know we we do have happy hours but you just can't do alcohol. So they do the food part you know the which we do appetizers and hors d'oeuvres and whatnot at that price and that seems to have been a a reasonable uh workaround um but uh your comments also are something that I think are worth a discussion as well from my viewpoint uh we probably do have to take another look at that to say hey does this still apply uh we did it for a reason uh back uh when we had done it and uh now I guess we need to have that discussion about does this still apply to today with today's uh you know different as you said technologies and and uh things that are that are have changed over the years that make it perhaps not as uh applicable as it once was so um I'd be willing to have that discussion at some point if it's if it's you know, sure I I I think um procedurally, you could offer that motion during new business to bring it back on a future liquor commission agenda, and that would be the way to do it. Mr. Mayor, go ahead may I yes like to make a motion to uh it would be under due business. Oh, so uh when we get the new business. Yep, no worries. All right, I don't see any other questions. Thank you. Uh if you want to stick around, um uh you can see how the new business is. Absolutely, yeah. Okay. We want to hear some other presentations as well. Thank you for your consideration. Very well, thank you. Any other public forum speakers? Seeing none, we'll move on to all business D1. We have a motion to accept the meeting minutes from the prior meeting. Commissioner Signorella? So moved. Is there a second? Aye. I'm sorry, I'm looking at my microphones and controls here, and uh nobody else is lit up here. So, commissioner. Oh, I'm sorry.
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