OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting - August 6, 2026: Happy Hour Restrictions Discussed

City Council — Thursday, August 6, 2026
BodyNaperville, Illinois
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, August 6, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 44:38
Transcript — Verbatim
1:14

Good afternoon.

1:14

Welcome to the August 6th, 2026 Liquor Commission meeting.

1:19

Roll call.

1:20

Cherico.

1:21

Here.

1:22

Douglas.

1:22

Here.

1:23

D.

1:24

Kunzer.

1:25

Here.

1:25

McGurry.

1:26

Here.

1:26

De Joya.

1:27

Here.

1:27

Worley.

1:28

Here.

1:30

Our first order of business is public forum.

1:33

If there's anyone here that wants to speak on an item that is not on the agenda, please come forward now.

1:42

Seeing none, next item is old business.

1:46

We have the meeting minutes from our July 2026 meeting.

1:53

Is there a commissioner who wants to move for approval?

1:56

And Commissioner Cherico.

1:58

Thank you, Mayor.

1:59

I'd like to make a motion to pass the liquor commission meeting minutes of July 9th, 2026, as written.

2:05

Is there a second?

2:06

Second, McGurry.

2:08

You have a motion and a second to approve the minutes.

2:10

All those in favor sign aye.

2:12

Aye.

2:13

Opposed.

2:14

Motion carries.

2:18

Our next item is new business.

2:20

Item E one.

2:21

Consider amendments to happy hour restrictions in section three dash three dash twelve dash, or excuse me.

2:30

Try that again.

2:31

Three dash three to dash twelve, three dot two of the Naperville municipal code.

2:36

Are there any speakers on this item?

2:39

We have two written comments that were posted online, and we have four speakers.

2:43

Please call the first speaker.

3:12

And just as a reminder, speakers, um, just please state your name and and who you represent, and then uh you will have three minutes that the timekeeper to the right will be maintaining for you.

3:23

So thank you.

3:25

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the liquor commission.

3:27

My name is John Zidowitz.

3:29

I'm the general manager of Devante Naperville.

3:32

I first like to applaud you guys for your vision and the policies that you have set because it upholds our standards higher than everybody else.

3:42

That being said, Naperville is a destination spot.

3:46

It's the second downtown Chicago.

3:49

Everybody's coming to everybody from Naporville already knows our laws.

3:54

The people who come in looking for happy hour are disappointed and walk away and don't buy anything because there's no liquor.

4:05

And they're holding the restaurant responsible.

4:08

We have to educate them.

4:09

This is a it's a neighborhood policy.

4:12

We lose out on sales.

4:13

It's not a fair playing ground with other villages around us.

4:31

So if this was originally set to be worried about the younger generation abusing it, I can attest in my store that that is not the case.

5:00

Brandon Soto.

5:09

Good afternoon, Mr.

5:10

Mayor, Commissioners.

5:11

How are we today?

5:13

First and foremost, I am Brandon Soto.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Liquor Licensing█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Economic Development██████10%
Procedural██████9%
Public Safety██████9%
Summary of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Meeting – August 6, 2026

The Naperville Liquor Commission met on August 6, 2026, at 3:00 PM in Council Chambers. The primary agenda item was a discussion and vote on amending the city's happy hour restrictions in Section 3-3-12:3.2 of the Municipal Code. The Commission heard public testimony from restaurant owners and stakeholders, deliberated on the scope of hours, and voted unanimously to recommend a modified happy hour policy to the City Council. The meeting also included routine approvals and reports.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved Minutes: The Commission unanimously approved the July 9, 2026 Liquor Commission meeting minutes as written. (Motion by Commissioner Cherico, second by Commissioner McGurry; voice vote, all ayes.)

Public Comments & Testimony

  • John Zidowitz (General Manager, Devante Naperville) expressed full support for relaxing happy hour restrictions, stating that the current policy puts Naperville at a competitive disadvantage and that customers are often disappointed when they learn no happy hour is offered.
  • Brandon Soto (General Manager, Vacillies, speaking also on behalf of La Sarola, Francesca, and Devonti Altec) argued that happy hour would increase sales, help cover labor and food costs, and that Naperville’s well-trained staff and existing safety culture can manage the risks. He noted that many patrons are working adults, not college students.
  • Glenda Barba (Scott Harris Hospitality, also representing Devonte Naperville) stated that happy hour should not be an issue if servers are properly trained via BASSET, and that restrictions could be placed on per-guest consumption. She said happy hour would attract more visitors to Naperville.
  • Kevin Reed (Vice President of Operations, Biagis and Anshu and Agave) described a real incident where a couple left a Naperville restaurant because no happy hour was offered. He highlighted that the state law prohibiting happy hour was repealed in 2015, but Naperville retained its own ban. He cited changes since 1989 (lower BAC limit, BASSET training, ride-sharing, improved ID tech) as reasons to remove the ban.
  • Christina Kitchell (Caiton Commercial Real Estate Group) spoke on behalf of downtown restaurant groups, noting that restaurants on peripheral streets struggle during off-peak hours and that happy hour would help bridge the gap. She emphasized that happy hour attendees are typically working adults, not college students.
  • Monica Connors (Naperville Development Partnership, representing Dine Naperville) stated that over 400 restaurants in the city are affected and that many chain restaurants face marketing challenges because Naperville is one of the few communities nationally without happy hour. She urged the Commission to explore the change.

Discussion Items

  • Happy Hour Restrictions Amendment: Commissioners discussed the history of the ban, which was retained after the state repeal in 2015 due to concerns about late-night incidents downtown. Commissioner Douglas asked about the ideal hours for happy hour, with several speakers suggesting a window of 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Commissioner Cherico initially moved to adopt the state's happy hour laws (which allow discounts up to 4 hours per day, 15 hours per week, but prohibit happy hour between 10:00 PM and closing). After discussion, Commissioner De Joya made a motion of substitution to limit happy hour to 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, which was seconded. Commissioner Cherico withdrew his original motion in favor of the more restrictive hours. The Commission also discussed the ability to revisit the policy after a year to monitor impacts. Detective Crichton confirmed that no specific data on DUIs from surrounding communities with happy hour was available, but he had not observed increased activity.
  • Reports:
    • DUI Report (July 2026): Detective Crichton reported 17 DUIs in July 2026, down from 26 in July 2025, a decrease of 9 incidents year-over-year.
    • Tobacco Report: The department is in a summer lull between checks; retailer packets will be distributed starting in October.
    • Local Liquor Law Essentials Report: 33 people completed the local liquor law training in July 2026.
    • Liquor Concept Committee Report: No meeting was held in July 2026 due to no new concepts.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on Happy Hour Amendment: The Commission voted 6-0 to recommend that the City Council amend the Municipal Code to allow happy hour from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, adopting the state's other restrictions (maximum 4 hours per day, 15 hours per week, no happy hour after 10:00 PM). The motion was passed with all commissioners voting aye: Cherico, Douglas, D. Kunzer, McGurry, De Joya, and Worley.
  • Next Steps: The recommendation will be placed on the City Council consent agenda for the first meeting in September 2026 (likely September 1). If any council member or member of the public signs up to speak on the item, it may be pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion. The Commission encouraged stakeholders to submit letters of support and attend the City Council meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Welcome to the August 6th, 2026 Liquor Commission meeting. Roll call. Cherico. Here. Douglas. Here. D. Kunzer. Here. McGurry. Here. De Joya. Here. Worley. Here. Our first order of business is public forum. If there's anyone here that wants to speak on an item that is not on the agenda, please come forward now. Seeing none, next item is old business. We have the meeting minutes from our July 2026 meeting. Is there a commissioner who wants to move for approval? And Commissioner Cherico. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to pass the liquor commission meeting minutes of July 9th, 2026, as written. Is there a second? Second, McGurry. You have a motion and a second to approve the minutes. All those in favor sign aye. Aye. Opposed. Motion carries. Our next item is new business. Item E one. Consider amendments to happy hour restrictions in section three dash three dash twelve dash, or excuse me. Try that again. Three dash three to dash twelve, three dot two of the Naperville municipal code. Are there any speakers on this item? We have two written comments that were posted online, and we have four speakers. Please call the first speaker. And just as a reminder, speakers, um, just please state your name and and who you represent, and then uh you will have three minutes that the timekeeper to the right will be maintaining for you. So thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the liquor commission. My name is John Zidowitz. I'm the general manager of Devante Naperville. I first like to applaud you guys for your vision and the policies that you have set because it upholds our standards higher than everybody else. That being said, Naperville is a destination spot. It's the second downtown Chicago. Everybody's coming to everybody from Naporville already knows our laws. The people who come in looking for happy hour are disappointed and walk away and don't buy anything because there's no liquor. And they're holding the restaurant responsible.

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