The Joliet City Council has followed a recommendation of Mayor Terry D’Arcy to deny the liquor license application submitted by one business while tabling the application of another applicant.
The city council Tuesday tabled the vote for a liquor license application for the BP gas station with a convenience store facing Houbolt Road near I-80 at 1411 Riverboat Center Drive. D’Arcy initially told the council that his denial recommendation was based on fact the proposed business is within a mile radius of nine existing businesses that sell alcohol on premises. But he asked the city council to table the vote for reconsideration as a good-faith measure after the applicant attended the meeting asking for the application to be approved.
D’Arcy, who also serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, asked the city council to deny applicant Hemendra Shah’s request for a Class CG license for Joliet Gas and Food, 91 Airport Drive. Class CG liquor license allows the applicant to only sell beer and wine in its original package. It does not allow for consumption on premises. The council Tuesday sided with D’Arcy by denying the application.
D’Arcy suggested a no vote for the gas station near the Joliet Regional Airport because the site is in vicinity of hotels. The business is proposed for the site of the abandoned Citgo property, which only sold tobacco products and not alcohol. The former owners of Citgo told city officials they closed the gas station due to crime in the area.
“The issuance of an additional liquor license at this location will likely have a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the city as a whole,” D’Arcy wrote in a memo to the council.
Kevin Kelley, the deputy liquor commissioner, added that the denial is because neighbors did not want to see another business sell alcohol in their area.
