Business & Tech

Craft Beer Sellers Approved on Halsted

The new business will focus on craft beers and specialty wines, but there's one high-priced stipulation in the contract.

A new liquor store focusing on craft beer rather than hard alcohol will soon pop up on North Halsted Street near Belmont Avenue.

Members of the South East Lake View Neighbors approved owner Paradeep Patel’s business proposal during their Monday night meeting after his initial presentation to the group in November. But while the store was approved, there were some contracted stipulations.

To avoid attracting “transient” people to the neighborhood, the new store isn’t allowed to sell any hard alcohol costing less than $10 a bottle. That’s compared to his liquor store in Roger’s Park where the minimum is $5.

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“I’m agreeing to the $10 floor price because the idea is to focus on craft beer, not liquor,” Patel said. “I think I’ll be able to succeed still. My focus is going to be on the craft beer because it’s an emerging sector in the alcohol industry.”

Located at 3151 N. Halsted St., Patel’s new store will fall just one block outside Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) new ban on liquor licenses for taverns and liquor stores.

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Patel said the success of the store will depend on the consumers, but he intends to target the customer looking for craft beer or high quality wine that might not be found elsewhere. To his argument, he added that those aren’t the kind of liquors people are drinking when getting into trouble.

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Patel said he would have preferred a $7.50 floor price in the contract, but he agrees that the high price limit will deter problem drinkers.

“As a liquor store owner, I can say we also don’t’ like to deal with transient people,” Patel said. “A lot of times they take the money out of their socks. I don’t want to touch their money, my people don’t want to touch their money.”

“Liquor licenses by definition are not liked by anybody,” Patel said in November. “I have four businesses in this community, and after purchasing them, I completely remodeled them… I do tend to make a boutique store.”

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