The Village of Summit is asking residents whether bars should be allowed to stay open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Until a few years ago, businesses in the village could hold 4 a.m. liquor licenses. A new ordinance rolled closing times back to 2 a.m. and added safety requirements.
Some business owners now want those rules loosened. They argue an extra hour would help their establishments compete with neighboring towns while maintaining safety.
Luis A. Tayahua, owner of Studio 63 on Archer Road, has lived in Summit for more than 40 years. He said the 2 a.m. rule is driving customers elsewhere.
“Three years ago, Summit changed the rules, requiring bars to close at 2 a.m. and adding new safety regulations for businesses that serve alcohol. These safety rules were important and effective, and as a result, Summit has done better than many nearby towns when it comes to safety. However, the 2 a.m. closing time has had a dramatic negative impact on businesses in our community.”
Tayahua said Summit’s business corridors are struggling.
“Right now, the downtown area along 63rd Street and Archer Road is becoming emptier every year. Many new retail businesses last only six months to a year before they are forced to close. For example, Windy City Chicken recently shut its doors in less than a year. Without a 3 a.m. closing time for bars and restaurants on the weekends, we simply cannot compete with nearby towns that allow businesses to operate later. This puts Summit at a significant disadvantage.”
He added that fewer businesses mean fewer jobs and higher taxes for residents.
“When businesses close or leave, others take notice and may hesitate to open new shops here. This cycle results in fewer businesses, more empty storefronts, and eventually, higher taxes for Summit residents to make up for lost revenue.”
Tayahua said owners are invested in the town and want to see it thrive.
“As business owners, we take pride in our establishments, reinvest in the community, and want to help Summit become the best it can be and what we know it can become. That’s why we’ve staked our livelihoods and invested in businesses here — we believe in this town and its future.”
He said safety remains a priority.
“I also want to address safety concerns. Every bar in Summit is required to have security on weekend nights, and those security guards must be state-certified, according to town ordinances. The town has done an excellent job of enforcing this rule, conducting routine checks on Friday and Saturday nights. In addition, most bars and restaurants in town have invested in new camera and surveillance systems and ID scanners to keep our town, establishments, employees and customers safe.”
Tayahua urged residents to support the change.
“We hope you can understand why we’re asking for this change. Our goal is to keep Summit lively, competitive, safe and thriving. All we are requesting is the chance to work one more hour on weekends so we can continue to give back to the community we love. We’ve seen firsthand the negative impact the 2 a.m. rule has had on our business district. We are simply asking for a level playing field with our neighboring towns and cities.”
“Please vote yes for the 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. We invite you all to stop by any of our establishments for a tour or to ask questions. Thank you for hearing our side.”
Village Administrator Jerry Hurckes said the survey will close at the end of October. He said bar owners first raised the request with a licensing committee, but the board rejected it.
“This came about when some of the bar owners came to one of our licensing committees to see about gaining an extra hour on Friday and Saturday nights. The board said no as we see more problems after midnight. Other municipalities made the decision to close earlier and they saw problems decrease, so that’s what we did — that’s why we changed it,” Hurckes said.
He said the 2 a.m. rule reduced strain on police and earned broad community support.
“We understand their plight, it’s just difficult for us to go back to 4 a.m. given the problems we had before. Most residents were very supportive of the 2 a.m. change.”
“We weren’t the first ones to do this. Of course, we want to see them flourish, but the problem becomes that our police department gets overwhelmed, so at what cost would it benefit the village? The police department needs to double manpower and would often call other villages in to help if there was a problem. Things have been hugely better since we went to 2 a.m. You’re always going to have problems, but we have seen a big decrease with the 2 a.m. closing.”
Hurckes said the board does not plan to put the matter on a ballot.
“We just wanted to see what the residents think about it,” he said.
“We’re trying to change the reputation of the village, and it doesn’t help the image by staying open until 4 a.m. We have tried to clean up any problems by going to 2 a.m. closing time.”
Great now I can slam 4 more drinks in that hour!
Who remembers how bad things were back in the 1990’s and 2000’s with the 4am bar closings and the 24 hour burrito places?? Every drunk from all the other towns came to Summit to continue partying, get a burrito and cause trouble!!! 2am gives any sane and responsible person enough time to enjoy themselves and have a fun time. Allowing any bar in Summit to serve alcohol past 2am will only cause trouble and lead to mayhem!!! Being pro-active by not allowing a bar to serve alcohol after 2am is better than being re-active if you allow alcohol being served after 2am. If the village allows bars to serve alcohol after 2am there will be more trouble, more fights, more DUI’s, more accidents and more inconvenience to the tax paying citizens who don’t drink and don’t stay out all night!!!