Why are there so many Chicago BYOB Restaurants
Throughout the last several months of launching WineMcGee, I’ve learned a lot about the liquor laws of Chicago, IL, and the US as a whole. I’m going to kick off The Bottle Topper with a series of posts on the laws as I understand them, and explain some interesting aspects that affect our everyday lives:
- Why are there so few late night bars? I love Beaumonts like everyone else (what? you don’t love it??), but choosing between Beaumonts and Big City Tap (aka “The Big Shitty”) seems like a crime.
- Why are there so many Chicago BYOB Restaurants?
- Is it illegal for a BYOB to charge a corkage fee?
- Is your favorite happy hour spot in Chicago doing something illegal?
- After your BYOB dinner, can you take an unfinished bottle of wine home with you?
- The big Illinois wine shipping debate. Did Blagojevich screw us again?
Whatever you do, don’t take these articles as a substitute for consulting with your lawyer. They are not meant to provide legal advice and I have absolutely no credentials in the field of law (although I did once stay at a holiday inn express).
Today I’m going to provide an overview of Chicago liquor licensing, and discuss the laws that relate to BYOB.
First, a little bit of background on alcohol law: Throughout the US, like many of the rules that govern our lives, alcohol is governed by a combination of federal, state, and local county and municipality laws. While there is certainly a lively debate raging over the limits of state regulatory power pertaining to alcohol (see http://www.specialtywineretailers.org/illinois.html), the Twenty First Amendment to the constitution is generally thought to grant the states fairly broad powers to regulate the importation, sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol. The state then has the power to grant certain authorities to each municipality. The city of Chicago has been granted rights to regulate the retail sale of alcohol within the city.
Each business in Chicago that sells alcohol is required to obtain both an Illinois liquor license, and a Chicago liquor license. In Chicago there are actually nine types of liquor licenses (niiiine times. niiiine times. Name the movie.) There are different licenses for liquor stores, restaurants, taverns, patios, and late-night places. If you want to see the full details you can check out this PDF guide: Chicago Liquor Application Guide
What about the license for BYOB restaurants? There is no such license. If a restaurant wants to allow BYOB, they can. While the Illinois Municipal Code grants each municipality the ability to license and regulate BYOB restaurants (see 65 ILCS 5/11-42-10.1), it appears as though Chicago has, at least for the time being, chosen not to do so. For that reason, and because I enjoy drinking other people’s wine more than purchasing my own, I am officially declaring my apartment a BYOB.
Not all surrounding cities feel the same way about BYOB. In some areas there are ordinances in place to prohibit BYOB at certain places, like strip clubs. If you grew up in the suburbs like me, you probably know of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club (just from the outside). Because there were two DUI-related deaths and a murder at the club (yeah, you probably want to stay away), DuPage County approved a measure to ban the BYOB allowance at strip clubs. (see DuPage County should ban BYOB policies at strip clubs)
But we live in Chicago, and here everything goes. Except maybe charging for corkage. We’ll investigate that later.
(any lawyer types out there see any inacuracies or have something to add? Let us know.)
