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Trustees debate whether gaming revenue should count toward restaurant 50% food-sales test
Summary
The Village Board debated a second‑reading liquor ordinance that would change license counts and classifications; trustees urged clarifying whether the 50% restaurant threshold measures food sales alone or total gross receipts (which could include gaming), and asked the Liquor Control Commission to rework rules for clearer, fairer enforcement.
Trustees spent substantial time on March 23 debating language in a second‑reading ordinance that would shift the number of Class AAA and Class I liquor licenses available in Villa Park.
At issue was a statutory and local test for restaurant licenses that bars reissuance unless "the sale of liquor produces less than 50% of the total gross receipts." Attorney Morton noted the ordinance currently references total gross receipts, which could include gaming revenue, and confirmed local code enforcement and liquor-commission hearings are the mechanisms used if a licensee fails to meet the threshold.
Several trustees said that phrasing risks letting gaming-heavy operations qualify as restaurants if gaming is counted toward the 50% calculation. Trustee Kumar and others said that, as currently written, any establishment with significant gaming revenue would meet the threshold automatically and that the board should consider whether the test should explicitly be based on food sales rather than total gross receipts.
Trustee Constatos urged a broader overhaul of the village’s liquor-license ordinance so businesses know up front the criteria, audit frequency, and consequences for failing to meet the sales threshold. Trustee Cozart and others asked the Liquor Control Commission to examine the rules and return clear, consistent wording that treats similar businesses equally.
The board did not finalize a rewrite during the meeting; it instructed trustees to send specific requests to the Liquor Control Commission and staff for the commission to review and return recommendations.
