Hinsdale Sports Bar Plan Bolstered by Trustees' Liquor-Related Vote

Doug Fuller said Tuesday night Hinsdale residents can expect part of Fuller's Home & Hardware along 1st Street to become a new downtown sports bar in matter of months. 

"We'll be open for Bears season," Fuller said in the Memorial Hall lobby after the Village of Hinsdale Board of Trustees approved the creation of a new type of liquor license for restaurants that want to serve alcohol beyond the normal cutoff times of 10:30 p.m. on weeknights and 12 a.m. on weekends.

Trustees voted 4-2 to approve the new extended-hours classification, which will allow Fuller and other Hinsdale restaurateurs to apply for a license that permits liquor service until 11:30 p.m. on weeknights and 12:30 a.m. on weekends. 

Trustees Kimberley Angelo, Jerry Hughes, Laura LaPlaca and Bob Saigh voted to approve the new measure, while Chris Elder and Bill Haarlow voted against it.

Angelo, Elder and Haarlow all said they did not have a problem with the weeknight extension, but would have rather kept the 12 a.m. weekend service cutoff. With a trustees split 3-3, Angelo decided to support the measure.

Village President Tom Cauley told Fuller trustees support the idea of an affordable, family-friendly establishment, but do have concerns with the later service hours.

“They’re willing to with you to make of a go of it for a family-style restaurant, but I don’t think anyone is particularly enamored about the idea of having a lively late-night bar scene,” Cauley said, noting the expectation that the management of the sports bar will comply fully with village regulations and cooperate with police.

Fuller and partner Jim Carlstrom first introduced the sports-bar idea during the board’s Administration and Community Affairs (ACA) Committee meeting earlier this month and asked for a 12 a.m. weeknight cutoff and 1 a.m. weekend cutoff.

READ: Doug Fuller Looking to Open Sports Bar in Downtown Hinsdale

At that meeting, Fuller said numerous Dips & Dogs customers have asked him to open an affordable, family-friendly restaurant where adults can enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two while eating $10-$12 entrees.   

“This is something we [currently] leave the town for, and the town is asking for it,” Fuller said to the ACA Committee.

He and Carlstrom said they would only proceed with the idea, though, if liquor-service hours were extended. The 10:30 p.m. and 12 a.m. cutoffs were both among the earliest in the immediate area. 

Fuller said the hardware store will remain as is through the July 4 holiday. If all goes according to plan, Carlstrom said, construction on the part of the store that would become the two-level, family-friendly sports bar currently being called Fullersburg Grill will begin by Aug. 1.

The extended-hours license will be made available to other restaurants in town. The measure approved Tuesday did not attach any extra fee for the classification, but restaurant-owners will have to acquire one from the village.

“I think there will be some existing [restaurant owners] who will want to come back and see you,” economic development director Tim Scott said to Cauley, who also serves as the village's liquor commissioner.

Here's what people are saying on Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch's Facebook page:

• Scott Collis: "Impressive and refreshing position!"
• Leslie Besecke: "Best thing to happen to Hinsdale in forever!"
• Thomas Cawthorne "Welcome to the late 20th century downtown Hinsdale."

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