On October 4, 2017, the Village  received a request from the owners of Elm Liquor Inc. dba Elm’s Liquor to transfer their existing Class “B” liquor license from their current location at 510 W. Northwest Highway to a new store front located at 906 W. Northwest Highway.

The request for moving the current liquor store to a new location is because there is a proposal for redevelopment of the shopping center where Elm’s Liquors is currently located.  One of the owners, Kamlesh Shaw, has held a liquor license at the current location for over 20 years. He wishes to continue to have his business located in Arlington Heights as he has a long-standing customer base. He has selected a new store that is located a few blocks away on the same street.

Usually the Mayor, as Liquor Control Commissioner, is able to administratively approve a change of location for a liquor license to a new location if it meets the requirements of the Liquor Code.  In this instance, however, the new location that Mr. Shaw is considering is approximately 1200 square feet and therefore does not meet the size requirement for a new location seeking a Class “B” liquor license.

In January 2014, the Village Board created a square footage size requirement for any new Class B liquor licenses.  Specifically, the Code provides:

Class “B” licenses, which shall authorize the retail sale of alcoholic liquor but not for consumption on the premises where sold.  All premises for Class “B” licenses shall be at least 2,500 square feet.  This square footage limitation shall not apply to those establishments in existence as of January 6, 2014.

In order for Elm’s Liquor to relocate to their proposed new location a waiver from the requirement of Section 13-501c regarding the minimum size for a retail liquor establishment is necessary.  It should be noted that the current space that Elm’s Liquor occupies is in excess of 2,500 square feet, although they only use about 1,500 square feet for the business.

While Staff understands that the goal of the Village Board in adopting the size limitation in 2014 was to limit the number of small liquor stores, in this unique circumstance – permitting a long-standing business to remain in the Village – Staff believes that since the number of liquor stores in the Village will not increase as a result of this waiver, there is merit in granting this waiver.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Village Board grant a waiver from the requirement of Section 13-501c regarding the minimum size for a retail liquor establishment to permit Elm’s Liquor Store to relocate to 906 W. Northwest Highway into a space that is approximately 1,200 square feet.