Liquor License Question

I'm pretty certain that I know the answer to my question having done some legal research on the issue. But, if a retail, non food or alcohol related, establishment (say a boutique) hosts a party, are they required to have a liquor license. The alcohol is purchased from a licensed retailer by the store's owner. The guests are all invited and the alcohol is free as is any food. There is no fee for admission. Essentially, it is Does the answer change where the food is provided by a caterer, but the caterer does not sell or provide the alcohol?

Has anyone had any experience with this issue and if you have, have you gotten a rider or event insurance from the insurance carrier?

IANAL, but I wouldn't think the answer would change. The caterer has nothing to do with the alcohol. I can't imagine all the galleries that have wine on openings etc. get licenses, do they?

Liability for the event detailing approximate alcohol being purchased for the event should be provided to the insurance company, and is just a good idea. However, it isn't the caterer's responsibility. It would be owner of the location where the event takes place who would need it. At my wedding in August, the event took place at a location where all food and liquor was brought in by us. The location required us to provide and prove liability coverage for the event.

I recently tried securing alcohol for an event in a retail store that has no liquor license - it sells food, but not wine. I was flatly denied by my neighbor, a wine sales person, who suggested I contact the city for a single day license (or is it a 'special events' license). I decided to drop the matter entirely - it will be a wine-free event. If you track down better information, please post it here -- two weeks until the event, so I reserve hope...

Are you planning on selling the alcohol or is it provided free to guests? I don't think the special event license works as I thought it was only applicable to non-profits.

MAG, I think in your case it's considered a private party and so you don't need any kind of license, since the alcohol is free of charge and guests are all invited. At least that's how the state of illinois sees it. I'm not sure if there are regulations in the city that override that.

As for insurance, I have no idea.

gleam wrote:MAG, I think in your case it's considered a private party and so you don't need any kind of license, since the alcohol is free of charge and guests are all invited. At least that's how the state of illinois sees it. I'm not sure if there are regulations in the city that override that.

As for insurance, I have no idea.

I would look into what they call "dram shop insurance" for the day, though. That should help cover you for any alcohol related liability.

If you rent a bartender through an event staffing company (ie. Service is Us), you are covered by their dram shop insurance for the event. Staff like that usually runs ~$20/hour with a 2 - 3 hour minimum. To be able to do this, they have to have their BASSET card and taken a relevant course on not overserving and how to card people.

I have used Service is Us located in Andersonville on a couple of occassions and have always been very pleased with their staff.

Are you sure about the dram shop insurance part? I know that they do have the certificate, but I know that Carol's, which I use, has only general liability insurance. If the place you use has specific liquor insurance, please let me know - even though I'm going to likely add that and a caterer's liquor license to my "things-to-do list."

This is in the case of an invited event where the liquor is not sold. Their policy should cover you and your clients. We used the at a Christmas part for the staff at a school, and were assured we were fully covered.

I had looked into Carol's, but at the time Service was much less expensive.

Thanks for the information - I'm going to look into using them.

what constitutes an invitation? In our case we are having a free event in which an invitation is made available to the general public in the form of an announcement, and people who are of age can have a glass of wine. There is no charge for the event or for the wine. Would a bartender with dram shop insurance cover us?

Okay,

I got the answer direct from the source, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. In my original scenario, if the alcohol is not sold, but instead provided to guests, no liquor license is required.

Kafien's event staffers, Carol's does not have dram shop insurance, but instead general liaiblity. My client just got a rider, which $100 for the event - a worthwhile investment in my opinion.