No Exceptions On Burr Ridge Closing Times: Officials

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge officials said Monday they would make no exceptions for hours of operation for restaurants with liquor licenses.

At a Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously voted for requiring restaurants to close at 1 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at midnight on other days.

A couple of weeks ago, Village Attorney Mike Durkin said two restaurants – County Wine Merchant and Jonny Cab's, which has yet to open – would be grandfathered in and allowed to stay open through 2 a.m.

On Monday, though, Durkin said he checked the language of the two restaurants' special use licenses and found they included no conditions for closing times. So he said the village could set the hours for those establishments by ordinance, just like the others.

Earlier this month, the lawyer for Capri Ristorante maintained that his client had been allowed a 2 a.m. closing time for the last 18 years.

But at Monday's meeting, Village Administrator Evan Walter said Capri Ristorante never was granted a 2 a.m. closing time.

"There was a misunderstanding about what their license was," Walter told the trustees.

Trustee Joe Snyder, who was connected to the meeting remotely, expressed reservations about applying the ordinance to County Wine Merchant and Jonny Cab's.

He suggested it was unfair to revoke what he thought was granted to the restaurants. And he urged the village to contact them.

Mayor Gary Grasso said he had spoken with representatives from both businesses. He said the person from Jonny Cab's had no problem with the change.

"He, like so many others, doesn't want to be open half the morning," Grasso said.

For the time being, officials said they would align outdoor dining hours with those for indoors. They said they asked the village's Plan Commission to look into the matter further.