Council amends retail hours: drive-throughs and pickup limited to 2 a.m.; ordinance updated

The Glendale Common Council updated city code section 7.15.4 to revise retail business hours and delivery/pickup rules. The council’s final ordinance, adopted after an amendment, allows drive-through operations and delivery/pickup services until 2 a.m., shifts standard retail closing hours modestly later in some areas, and clarifies how the 500-foot residential proximity rule applies when mapping hours restrictions.

Staff explained the amendment arose from a code review that identified many businesses operating outside the city’s prior limitations. The proposed language moved weekday closing from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday–Thursday and midnight on weekends for certain retail categories; restaurants retaining on-premise alcohol rules may remain open under state law. Council member Alderman Vukovich proposed an amendment to cap delivery and pickup orders (including third‑party delivery) at 2 a.m.; after debate the amendment passed 5-1 and was folded into the ordinance. The council then approved the ordinance as amended.

Business representatives and operators who spoke to the council supported later pickup/delivery hours, citing sales and workforce impacts. Tony (Jose Antonio Sextos), an area consultant for the operator group, said after extending pickup hours at other stores his operations saw “a big jump” in late-night sales and that careful staff procedures reduced incidents at later hours.

Council members emphasized enforcement and neighborhood impacts. Staff said the map used to determine which properties fall within 500 feet of residential zoning was revised to count only residential zoning inside Glendale city limits, rather than adjacent municipal zoning, in response to a council request.

The ordinance now in effect allows drive-through service and pre-paid pickup/delivery to operate until 2 a.m.; staff said they will monitor complaints and bring any enforcement needs back to the council.