Bars and restaurants across Naperville have the ability to offer happy hour drink specials, following a pivotal decision from the city council that lifts a long-running ban on such promotions.
The council at its Tuesday, Sept. 1, meeting adopted a happy hour ordinance that includes provisions within an 11-year-old Illinois public act and adds in other several local specifications, such as a 7 p.m. cutoff for the promotions.
What the change means for Naperville bars, restaurants
In 2015, state lawmakers enacted Public Act 99-0046, which reversed a statewide ban on happy hour specials that had been enacted in 1989.
As a home-rule city in Illinois, Naperville had the authority to continue a happy hour prohibition, which city officials decided to do in 2017.
With the prohibition now lifted locally, Naperville-based restaurants and bars can offer happy hour specials, so long as the provisions within the Illinois Liquor Control Act are followed. The act includes such stipulations as:
- A 4-hour-per-day, or 15-hour-per-week cap on happy hour specials.
- Drink specials must apply to all patrons able to legally drink, meaning promotions such as a “ladies’ night” or costume-themed events are not allowed.
- Offering unlimited drinks, or events or contests to encourage large consumption, is prohibited.
- Promotions must be made public at least seven days in advance.
- Free food and entertainment, bundled with the happy hour drink specials, are permissible.
Naperville’s council-adopted ordinance includes several additional parameters for local establishments:
- An explicit 7 p.m. cutoff, which is earlier than the state’s timeframe of 10 p.m.
- A requirement all participating establishments post a schedule of drink prices.
- A patron cannot receive more than one drink at a time during happy hour promotions, with the exception of wine served by the bottle or carafe.
- Discounts cannot exceed 50% of the posted regular price.
Local restaurateurs, organizers speak in favor of change
The council received public comment from a number of people, many working within the food and beverage industry or representing organizations that promote such establishments.
Monica Conners, president of Naperville Development Partnership, spoke in favor of the ordinance at the recent council meeting. Restaurant marketing is one of NDP’s three core functions.
She said the ordinance “would have a positive impact on many of our 400 restaurants, who support the employment of over 8,000 people in the accommodation and food industry.”
“We frequently hear from business owners and operators that not having happy hour is detrimental to their competitiveness, detrimental to their bottom line and also has a negative impact on their employees,” Conners added.
Within Chicagoland, Conners indicated local and regional restaurant groups historically have been tasked with creating Naperville-centric menus to address the happy hour prohibition that had been in place.
Speaking from a real estate perspective, Christina Caton-Kitchel of the Caton Commercial Real Estate Group said a mechanism such as happy hour specials is an opportunity for local bar and restaurant owners to recoup their investment during lower volume times of the week.
“Our real estate here, as you all know, is some of the most expensive real estate outside of Chicago,” said Caton-Kitchel, who is chairman-elect of the NDP’s executive committee. “In order to make the dollars that they need to make, they have to get butts in the seats Monday through Thursday.”
Brandon Sheldon, vice president of operations for Naperville-based CityGate Hospitality, said the ordinance is a way to level the playing field.
“From my perspective, happy hour has never been just about discounted drinks,” Sheldon said in a written comment to the council. “It’s about creating reasons for people to gather, encouraging guests to order food, introducing them to restaurants they may not have otherwise visited, and bringing energy to our local hospitality community during traditionally slower times of the day.”
History behind Naperville’s happy hour prohibition
Calls for a reconsideration of Naperville’s happy hour ban bubbled to the surface this summer at Naperville Liquor Commission meetings.
In July, commissioners heard from Kevin Reed, who asked that the ban be lifted. Reed serves as vice president of operations at Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano and Ancho & Agave. Last month, commissioners gave a favorable recommendation to the ordinance the council recently took up on a 6-0 vote.
Before the council voted in favor of the ordinance at the recent meeting, Mayor Scott Wehrli provided historical context for the reasoning behind the continuation of the ban in 2017.
“We were dealing with a lot of late-night liquor-related violence in downtown, specifically,” Wehrli said. “The liquor commission back then voted to keep things as-is.”
The reconsideration 9 years later is the net result of positive changes that have since occurred, Wehrli indicated.
“Obviously, those things have not continued,” Wehrli added in referencing the violence. “The city has made great strides and improvements to guarantee the safety of our patrons in the downtown.”
Stay in the know – sign up for our daily news update!
