The Heinen’s grocery store, set to take over the property formerly occupied by Butera in the 1200 block of East Chicago Avenue, is seeking the city’s approval to sell alcohol on tap.
Jeff Heinen, a third-generation family member who co-leads the business with his brother, Tom Heinen, spoke at Thursday’s Naperville Liquor Commission meeting about the store’s request for a dispenser permit.
Heinen’s seeks to sell beer on tap and wine via Cruvinet
Heinen told commissioners that the store is looking to sell beer, wine, and spirits not only as packaged goods but also for on-premise consumption. For in-store use, beer would be served on tap by an employee, while wine would be dispensed through a self-service Cruvinet, accessed with a reloadable card.
He added that this concept is already used at all four of Heinen’s locations in Illinois and that none of the stores have experienced any issues related to it.
“Everybody who’s going to touch the beer taps or the wine Cruvinet is BASSET-trained, and we have wine and beer consultants on duty so that they’re there to monitor it,” said Heinen.
Drink limitations at the grocery store
Limits on alcohol consumption would be in place. Customers would be restricted to a maximum of two glasses of beer, which Heinen said the grocery stores “definitely enforce.” Wine would only be offered in one-, three-, and five-ounce glasses.
“The most popular one is one-ounce because they can try a wine, think about buying it, [and see] what it tastes like,” said Heinen.
He stressed that the concept is meant for customers to sample beer and wine while they shop; not to create a bar-like environment.
Next steps ahead of Heinen’s planned opening next summer
For Heinen’s to sell alcohol on tap at its Naperville location, Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said the Liquor Commission needs to pass a motion to recommend a text amendment to the dispenser permit classification to add Class G1 licenses as acceptable recipients.
The motion was unanimously approved by the commission and the ordinance will go to the Naperville City Council for a final decision during a meeting in January 2025.
Heinen said he plans to open the Naperville location sometime next summer.
Image courtesy: AoDK Architecture, Heinen’s Grocery Store
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