Lake County Gazette

At the request of a new business, the Village of Vernon Hills board of trustees approved an ordinance expanding the types of alcohol that can be sold. 

 "The amendments would allow for the sale of additional types of alcohol other than wine," village community development director Andrew Jennings told the board. "And it would allow customers to pick up items that they've purchased online if they're local rather than have them shipped. The transaction itself would still be conducted online."

The board was approached by Dram Hammer Auctions, which wanted to either create or amend a liquor license to fit its operations. Dram Hammer Auctions worked with village officials to determine that amending the village’s Class L license, which allows for the sale of wine online, to include other types of alcohol would be the best fit.

Todd Farnon, one of the founding partners of the new business, spoke to the board about their business model. They are creating a website and an app where people can bring their whisky and bourbon collections. They would house and advertise those collections and run an auction once a month and sell the pieces, then either ship the products or allow customers to pick them up. 

The village would receive its portion of the sales tax from this business as they are located in the village, but the business would need to get monthly auction licenses from the state. The ordinance was approved by the committee and a final draft was voted on and accepted at the board of trustee’s November 15th meeting.