DeKALB – The DeKalb City Council is considering amending the city's liquor regulations to allow the Aldi supermarket to sell beer and wine.
The proposal was brought up during Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting. Jonathan Dana, operations director for Aldi, said the store stocks its own specialty brand of wine and beer in several of its stores, including its Geneva, Rochelle and Sugar Grove locations.
Dana said the store has no intention of selling hard liquor or giving up large areas of floor space to selling the alcohol.
"We do not intend to replace groceries or become a liquor store by any means," he said. "It just adds to the store."
But his proposal was shot down on a 5-1 vote by the city's Liquor Commission because Aldi's floor space did not meet the city's current requirements.
Mayor Kris Povlsen said the city amended its liquor ordinances around the time the Schnucks grocery store opened, so that it and other grocery stores could sell alcohol – as long as the total floor space was greater than 20,000 square feet.
But the Aldi at 2569 Sycamore Road in DeKalb has only about 15,000 square feet of floor space, and the commission decided not to grant an exception.
"They decided that this was a variant they didn't feel was really for the betterment of the community," said Povlsen, who also serves as liquor commissioner.
But because the commission serves as an advisory body for the council, Aldi still could get its request.
After discussing the issue, the council directed city staff to draw up an ordinance that would lower the floor space requirement of grocery stores so that Aldi could be included.
Povlsen said he was hesitant to take a side in the debate, saying he wanted to hear from the public and officials with the liquor industry.
"At this point I'm not sure it would bring any new business to the community," he said.
To him, it is still a question of how much the city wants to control the sale of alcohol versus how much the city should stand in the way of the free market.
"I do see both sides of the issue," he added.
During the Committee of the Whole meeting, Fourth Ward Alderman Brendon Gallagher placed his stance with the free market, saying Aldi should be allowed to compete with other grocery stores that sell alcohol.
"It's unfortunate that we have such a myopic view on one of our lower committees," he said.
But on the other side, 6th Ward Alderman Dave Baker said he was hesitant to go against the liquor commission.
Povlsen said he hoped the matter could be settled by the first council meeting in June.