Chicago grocery store could land license to sell specifically craft beer

Will craft-beer-only liquor licenses be a thing of the future?

Many have made these arguments — that craft beer drinkers are a different sort. First off, they have a deep knowledge of the ingredients of beer and the brewing and fermentation process, so the primary reason for consuming beer is to enjoy the diverse array of flavors and aromas that can be found in beer. They approach beer much like wine connoisseurs approach fine wine.

Some have argued that craft beer fans are also well aware of the effects of alcohol and their personal limits. As a result, they are more responsible than most other consumers of alcohol. Is that true? Well, nothing is true across the board, but some folks in Chicago think that might be true a majority of the time.

According to DNAinfo.com Chicago, an East Village Association board is developing a plan with a local grocery store (Garden Gourmet Market, 1130 N. Ashland) to have a liquor license that sells only craft beers and high-end wines; the idea must still be approved by Gregory Steadman, the City of Chicago’s Liquor Control commissioner. According to the article:

The restrictions are designed to ease fears by neighbors that the market could create alcohol-related problems … Such restrictive “plans of operation” are typically applied to trouble-prone shops in which the city is threatening to revoke their liquor licenses. Not so in this case. The restrictions, which prohibit the sale of all spirits, non-craft beers, malt brews and fortified wines, is a “proactive” measure.

As he had previously at numerous community gatherings, [grocery owner Maher] Farhan assured residents that the majority of his clientele are professionals who come in after work and “buy dinner for that night” and are “asking for wine and craft beer, not hard liquor or 40s.”

The agreement specifically prohibits hard liquor, “fortified wines” such as Wild Irish Rose and Night Train, malt liquors such as Colt 45 and Cobra and “other products that are intended to provide high alcohol content at a low price. Only single servings of cans or bottles of beer produced by breweries defined as “craft brewers” by the Brewers Association can be sold.

Read the rest of the article here.