East Dundee discussion: businesses ask to expand participation in downtown events; open‑carry rules, security and cooler bans to be studied

Business owners and members of the East Dundee events committee asked the Board of Trustees on Feb. 17 to expand which downtown businesses may sell food and alcohol during village events and to simplify sign‑up logistics.

At a discussion moved to the top of the agenda, events committee members and several restaurant owners said they want the village to allow participating businesses across the square to serve both food and alcohol within the event area — rather than limiting participation to a few vendor slots — and to be able to set up directly in front of their storefronts. The request is intended to reduce setup burdens, spread customer demand and give more businesses a chance to benefit from event traffic.

Joe Kondo (Diamond Jim), who spoke for a group of downtown businesses, said the change would reduce logistical burdens and increase variety for patrons. "If we are able to…set something up in front of our business and we can do food and alcohol as well, that would be beneficial," Kondo said. Business owner Colin added that downtown tenants pay a premium for central locations and should be considered when access, parking and staging are managed. An events committee representative (AJ) said the committee will study security steps including prohibiting outside coolers and strengthening entry gates so only people who buy from on‑site vendors can carry alcohol inside the footprint.

Trustees and staff agreed the idea needs additional planning. Village staff and the events committee will: - Produce a survey for businesses that have participated historically and distribute it by the end of the week, per the meeting notes; - Meet with the police chief and public works to review security, crowd control, fencing/gateway logistics and whether closing portions of Barrington Avenue or other streets is feasible; and - Return to the events committee and the board with survey results, recommended operating rules (e.g., limits on menu items or portion sizes) and an implementation plan before finalizing changes for the 2025 event season.

The board discussed the tradeoffs businesses raised: some owners said opening vendor slots to any downtown business could reduce foot traffic for businesses that already pay higher rents for prime storefronts or for those that depend heavily on event nights for revenue. Staff suggested limited compromises — for example, designating participation areas in front of each business, setting pricing or menu‑item limits for event sales and enforcing a no‑outside‑alcohol rule at controlled entry points.

The board asked staff to coordinate the logistics quickly because the village is preparing the seasonal event plan; staff said the events committee will meet soon and that they will distribute the business survey this week.

The open‑carry of alcohol topic — whether patrons could carry alcohol outside of fenced event areas — will be considered separately with police and public safety staff. The police chief and public works will bring recommendations back to the events committee for further discussion.