La Grange Bakery Wants Expanded Liquor License

LA GRANGE, IL – Balkan Bakery in La Grange is asking for a village license to be able to offer limited tastings of spirits.

The bakery at 541 S. La Grange Road already has a liquor license for limited tastings of wine and beer.

But the business wants to expand that to spirit tastings, specifically for rakija, a type of brandy in the Balkans.

"Rakija/brandy is consumed more frequently than wine and beer in Serbian culture, and offering tastings would allow our customers to familiarize themselves with the flavors of the liquors they are interested in purchasing," owner Marija Pejkovic said in a letter to La Grange officials.

The village's Liquor Commission plans to review the request at its meeting at 6:15 p.m. Monday in the administration conference room at Village Hall.

In her letter, Pejkovic said the bakery was recently approached by Blacklisted Brandy, which requested a rakija tasting at the store.

"Their range of artisan fruit brandies, made with hand-harvested heirloom fruit and purified water, offers a unique tasting experience that our customers would appreciate," she said. "We believe that by allowing spirit tastings, Balkan Bakery can further contribute to the cultural richness of La Grange, attracting both local residents and visitors to our community."

Balkan Bakery started in 2007.