Wait, corkage fees can’t be illegal, right? Citywide, BYOBs—from tiny Indian spots on Devon to upscale eateries like Schwa—charge a per-bottle or per-person fee when you bring your booze to drink with their food. But the practice actually violates city law, as Manager Alex Trejo at Mixteco Grill (profiled in our roundup of our favorite Mexican BYOBs) found out on Wednesday, when a police officer issued the restaurant a citation for having a corkage fee. Mixteco has been BYOB for a long time, but it had just instituted a corkage fee for the first time, of $3 per bottle, a week earlier. “[The police officer] said the big deal is somebody called and said ‘these guys are charging,’ implying that if nobody had called, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
If you can find the info on the city of Chicago’s website (no easy task), the wording makes it pretty clear: “There should not be any direct or indirect fees charged for the allowance of BYOB unless the business location has a liquor license.” If a BYOB charges a corkage fee (or a “hospitality fee,” “recycling fee”—it’s illegal under any name), most likely they just haven’t been snitched on.
But before you decide to lower your personal entertainment costs by dropping a dime on your favorite mom-and-pop Thai spot, keep in mind that liquor service actually does cost a restaurant money—many small spots rent, rather than own, their industrial dish washers, and pay per wash load. Restaurants of all sizes have to buy glasses and replace breakage, and, priciest of all, a BYOB restaurant is almost forced to buy additional liability insurance: If a patron gets plotzed on their premises drinking his own booze, and then does something stupid (say, crash a car), the restaurant can be held responsible. How’s that for a double-bind?
For his part, Trejo at Mixteco is taking it in stride. Mixteco removed the short-lived corkage fee, and Trejo feels that it may be better off that way, regulations or no: “It’s not a big deal. With the economy and everything, [without a corkage fee] maybe we’re keeping more customers.”
Read more about BYOBs in “Bottle, Rock it” in this week’s issue.
What is the best way to alert the city about a business violating this law?
I don’t take sides on this issue, but the way I look at it is this: You are saving beaucoup bucks when you BYOB, and a $3 corkage fee is not going to rip into this savings. I have better things to do than rat on a restaurant that charges a small corkage.
Yeah, I’m going to start reporting every restaurant hat does have these heinous fees. The law is the law.
BTW, I’ve paid $3 per a person before, thats a pretty good rip for a party of 10. And don’t come crying about the extra dish washing costs, thats a pretty lame excuse since the restaurant provides free water to every patron, eating or not. Its a cost of doing business.
It would be nice if you didn’t have such a misleading headline on this article. As you mention in the article the corkage fee is only illegal in restaurants WITHOUT a liquor license. I hope you realize the headaches you have caused for restaurants that aren’t BYOBs.
eric, that’s what an ARTICLE is for. If you could fit all the information into the headline, there would be no need for articles.
god i must be bored.
Could they avoid the ticket by suggesting diners donate a few bucks in lieu of a fee?
Really Tom, is “heinous” the right adjective to use here? These fees are totally reasonable, even if there’s a law against them. If you find it so heinous, order your food delivery and drink at home.
To understand why corkage fees are illegal, simply follow the money. The current fee for a liquor license in the City of Chicago is $4,400.00 for a two years. A BYOB establishment has not paid City Hall its due, viz., the $4,400.00 it costs for the privilege of charging patrons for alcohol. To allow BYOB’s to collect corkage allows the establishment the privilege of charging for alcohl without paying the fee for that privilege. And it’s also unfair to those establishments who have applied for a liquor license, undergone the hassle of getting the license, and paid the fee for the privilege of charging for alcohol.
just another example of daley / city of chicago trying to suck up all the $$ they can from small businesses…
Before you run and snitch on your favorite restaurant remember this, no restaurant HAS to be BYOB. If you run and tell on them for charging a reasonable fee then they may take BYOB away all together.
Many, many restaurants can’t get BYOB because the city doesn’t allow liquor licenses close to churches, schools, day care centers, or hospitals.
If the City suddenly starts enforcing a ban on corkage fees that really, really sucks for them.