Lisle trustees ask staff to draft code amendment to allow liquor sales at fueling stations; Kwik Trip presents store plan

The Village of Lisle Committee of the Whole on Feb. 3, 2025 instructed staff to draft proposed amendments to Title 3, Chapter 2 of the village code to allow fueling stations with convenience stores to apply for liquor licenses if they meet defined criteria.

Charlie Tarwater, a Kwik Trip representative, told trustees his company operates a standardized "QT Kitchen," described a roughly 5,025-square-foot store prototype with a commercial kitchen area of about 750 square feet, and outlined training and compliance processes including mandatory cashier training, a "card if younger than 40" policy and secret-shopper audits. Tarwater said off-premise sales would be packaged only and that the store would not offer on-site alcohol sampling.

Village Manager Erp Mode and trustees discussed two options staff had prepared: (1) remove the existing code language that bars issuance of a license for premises that sell motor fuel, or (2) permit licenses under specific parameters such as building-square-foot minimums and on-site food preparation requirements. Trustees voiced several preferences during the discussion: a majority favored allowing fueling-station applicants but with limits rather than striking the prohibition entirely; trustees generally preferred a minimum footprint larger than 3,000 square feet (several noted 5,000 is a common developer prototype), required on-site food preparation with DuPage County health-permit verification, prohibition on drive-through liquor sales, and a clear restriction that any authorized sales be for off-premise consumption only.

Trustees and staff raised enforcement and equity issues: Trustee Olson suggested a square-foot minimum to ensure the store offers a broader retail mix than a minimal pump-and-register operation. Trustee Lesniak and Trustee Saima expressed concern about giving a single applicant a competitive advantage if smaller existing convenience stores could not meet the new minimum; staff later reported Speedway's building footprint is roughly 3,200 square feet. Trustee Greco and others suggested signage and store policies to discourage on-site consumption at picnic tables. Police-enforcement procedures were described: the village conducts periodic compliance checks for tobacco and liquor and would incorporate fueling-station licensees into those checks.

No formal roll-call vote was taken; Mayor Pesach and multiple trustees indicated concurrence that staff should return with drafted code language incorporating the discussed parameters. Village Attorney and staff will draft the amendment for future formal consideration.

Next steps: staff to draft a code amendment that could include a building-square-foot minimum (board leaning toward >3,000 sq. ft.), a requirement for on-site food preparation permitted by DuPage County, prohibition on drive-through alcohol sales, and explicit restriction of licensed sales to off-premise packaged liquor. The draft will return to the board for formal consideration.