The Niles Village Board approved an ordinance allowing the expansion of alcohol sales in the village at its meeting Tuesday.
The measure increases the number of D-3 liquor licenses, which allow gas stations that sell groceries to also sell beer and wine, from three to six.
“Hard liquor is not, and will not, be an option for them,” said assistant liquor commissioner Pat Byrne.
Niles Shell at 6901 Milwaukee Avenue, Niles Xpress at 8575 Dempster Street and Niles BP at 8596 Dempster Street currently hold licenses, according to Communications and Multimedia Coordinator Mitchell Johnson.
Byrne said two more stores reached out to him in the last couple of months wanting to obtain liquor licenses. Byrne told them the Village Board would need to change the liquor license ordinance to make more licenses available.
Johnson said there’s a $250 application fee and an annual license fee of $800 for D-3 licenses. Alcohol purchases from those stores are allowed from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. seven days a week, he added.
The vote was 5-1 in favor of the ordinance with Trustee Craig Niedermaier opposing it.