Beer and business issues make up the bulk of the agenda for the Tuesday meeting of the Homewood Board of Trustees, but trustees will also consider a property purchase. Several measures on the agenda involve two craft beer companies that are planning to open breweries and tap rooms in the village. There are also several liquor license requests and one liquor license policy change on the agenda.
18029 Dixie Highway will soon become a craft
brewery if requests by Vice District, a Chicago brewer,
are granted Tuesday.
(Photos by Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Beer and business issues make up the bulk of the agenda for the Tuesday meeting of the Homewood Board of Trustees, but trustees will also consider a property purchase.
Several measures on the agenda involve two craft beer companies that are planning to open breweries and tap rooms in the village. There are also several liquor license requests and one liquor license policy change on the agenda.
Chicago brewer Vice District has been working all summer to prepare 18027-18029 Dixie Highway as a second location. Company officials said recently that much of the work is done, but a few regulatory steps remain.
Homewood trustees will consider a request to grant Vice District with a special use permit to operate in the B-1 business zone. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the request.
The company also is requesting $100,000 in business incentive funding from the village to help cover building acquisition costs and is asking the village to support its request to obtain Class 8 property tax relief from Cook County.
Rabid Brewing, a new craft brewery founded by Tobias Cichon and Raiye Rosado of Homewood, is asking the board for a six-month extension to complete work needed to qualify for incentive funds.
The company was approved for $40,000 in March, but delays in finishing the build-out at 17759 Bretz Drive mean the brewery likely will not open within the time frame specified by the village incentive program.
The board will also consider several liquor license requests, one from Walmart for a Class 2 package liquor license and one from Portillo’s for a Class 15 bear-only license. Trustees voted in July to support the creation of the new license Class at Portillo’s request.
consider authorizing the
purchase of 2049-2051
Ridge Road.
A third liquor license request for an established business, Grape & Grain, involves an amendment to the Class 14 license the business currently holds. The business is in the process of changing owners, and the new owner, Edia Santiago, is applying for the amended license.
The main change in the license is the elimination of imported beers. The business will focus on craft beers, wine, Scotch, bourbon, whiskey and craft sodas, according to Santiago.
The board voted 6 to 1 at its Sept. 13 meeting to support granting a license to Santiago. Trustee Jay Heiferman voted against the measure. He questioned the need to limit the license to craft beers.
The board will consider an amendment to the liquor license ordinance that will eliminate automatic transfers of licenses when businesses change ownership. If the measure is approved, new owners of businesses with liquor licenses will have to apply for a new license.
Trustees also will be asked to consider authorizing Village President Richard Hofeld to enter into a contract to purchase the building at 2049-2051 Ridge Road.
The building currently is occupied by Artistix Salon and Loulou Belle boutique.
It would be a brief land banking project, according to Hofeld. The village plans to sell the property to Third Coast Developers, a firm that is planning to create several mixed-use developments in the downtown area.
The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of Village Hall, 2020 Chestnut Road.
