A couple walked into Ancho & Agave on Chicago Avenue in February asking about happy hour specials. When told Naperville doesn't allow them, they left for Plainfield.
That story, recounted by Kevin Reed, vice president of operations for Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano and Ancho & Agave, captures what downtown restaurant owners say they lose every week under the city's long-standing ban on discounted drink promotions. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Naperville City Council is scheduled to vote on lifting that ban for good.
The Naperville Liquor Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 6 to recommend the repeal, reversing its own 2017 decision to keep the prohibition in place. If the council approves the ordinance, bars and restaurants along Chicago Avenue, Washington Street and throughout the city could begin offering afternoon drink specials for the first time in years.
There's one local guardrail: specials would have to end at 7 p.m., three hours earlier than the 10 p.m. cutoff Illinois state law allows. State rules also cap promotions at four hours per day and 15 hours per week and ban volume deals like two-for-one drinks.
Reed told the Liquor Commission on Aug. 6 that happy hour could boost revenue at Biaggi's and Ancho & Agave by as much as 13%, the Chicago Tribune reported. "We're at a competitive disadvantage with our neighboring communities that allow happy hour," he said at the meeting.
He's not alone.
John Zydowicz, general manager of Davanti Enoteca on Chicago Avenue, told the commission that customers who come in looking for drink specials walk away without ordering when they learn the city prohibits them. Christina Kitchel of Caton Commercial Real Estate Group testified on behalf of downtown clients, citing vacancies along the corridor and overhead costs at "an all-time high."
Monica Conners, president of the Naperville Development Partnership, said national chain restaurants in the city face marketing challenges because Naperville is one of the few communities nationally that doesn't allow happy hour promotions.
The ban dates to 1989, when Illinois prohibited happy hours statewide. The state reversed course in 2015, but Naperville's Liquor Commission voted in 2017 to keep the local restriction. Commissioner Steve Chirico, who supported that 2017 decision, explained at the Aug. 6 meeting that safety concerns drove it: a 2014 DUI-related drowning that killed two young men in a Park District quarry and a 2012 stabbing death of an elementary school teacher inside a Chicago Avenue club.
Chirico now supports the change. Commissioners cited the rise of rideshare services and improved ID-checking technology as reasons those concerns have been addressed. Commissioner Jason Dy suggested the commission revisit the policy after one year if the council approves it.
The council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers. The same agenda includes a vote on banning retail kratom sales citywide, as we reported Aug. 13.
Business Week Ahead
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.: Naperville City Council, Council Chambers. Votes on happy hour ban repeal, kratom retail sales ban and increasing the downtown Late Night Permit cap to 23.
Wednesday, Aug. 19: Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on a proposed 65-unit apartment development along the Route 59 corridor.
Friday, Aug. 21, through Monday, Aug. 24: Dumont Creamery & Café grand opening celebration at Block 59, 448 S. Route 59. Buy-one-get-one-free ice cream, prizes and games. First 100 customers receive exclusive goodies. Hours: Aug. 21, 5 to 11 p.m.; Aug. 22 to 24, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
