Minors cleared to serve alcohol at Chicago restaurants, grocery stores

The days of waiting in line at a Chicago supermarket to buy a six pack or a bottle of wine while the kid cashier calls his boss are about to end.

To speed up retail sales and reduce youth unemployment, the City Council’s License Committee advanced an ordinance Wednesday that would allow people between 18 and 20 years old to serve liquor in restaurants and stock and sell unopened bottles of booze at supermarkets. The legal drinking age in Illinois is 21.

They still won’t be allowed to open bottles and cans, pour or mix drinks. But they will be able to serve and sell it after completing a state-sponsored course about “responsible alcohol service consumption.”

The ordinance was co-sponsored by Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), the owner of Ann Sather’s Restaurants, and by Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus.

Read more: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/minors-cleared-to-serve-alcohol-at-restaurants-grocery-stores/