ROGERS PARK — Changes to local liquor ordinances in Rogers Park were approved by the City Council Wednesday, including reimplementing a measure effectively blocking any liquor stores from opening on a stretch of Devon Avenue.
A decades-old liquor moratorium on Devon Avenue, which had been lifted two years ago to make way for a brewpub that never opened, was returned.
With the Council's approval Wednesday, 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore reinstated a provision that prohibits the sale of prepackaged goods containing alcohol on the north side of Devon from Sheridan Road to Greenview Avenue — essentially stopping liquor stores from opening on the stretch.
However, he did not ask to reimplement the portion of the rule that would block businesses from selling and serving alcohol on the premises, such as bars or restaurants.
Moore said he inherited the moratorium when he became alderman and was "not a big fan" of liquor bans that could stifle potential business. But he viewed liquor stores as "less of an economic stimulus," he said.
The Council also approved the repeal of a moratorium on Clark Street between Pratt and Lunt, which will now allow the issuance of new licenses to sell alcoholic packaged goods.
That change will allow the new owner of corner supermarket Super Mercado Roman, which also sells alcohol, to get the store's liquor license in her name.
