New family restaurant coming ...

A new family restaurant is opening near the Square at 135 Washington St. You know the building but, if you're like me, you've never been in it. (Well, OK; today I was in it.)

Calogero's is aiming to open during the second week of August. So watch the building and the parking lot for activity.

It is planned as a family restaurant, serving "pasta, pizza & more." Licking your lips yet? In 2-3 weeks, call 815-308-5610 to ask the opening date.

Calogero's will have a Class D liquor license, meaning you can get a drink with your meal. But you won't be able to just go and drink; it's not going to be a bar. This ought to help preserve the "family" atmosphere. There is lots of parking in their own lot, right on the corner of Washington and Throop. And overflow parking in two nearby Metra lots.

Get a load of the annual fee for a Class D liquor license: $1,600!!! Rippppppp offffffff.....  At least, the City pro-rates the fee, when a business opens during the "license year", which runs through April 30. So the first year the only get nicked for 3/4 of the $1,600 annual fee. That's $133/month, every month, just for the liquor license! (CORRECTION: Please see the article on Monday, July 18, about Woodstock's new liquor license fee schedule. Calogero's annual license fee will be $1,200, and it's getting charged for the three months before it even opens!)

The City seems to generate a huge headache for the insurance company providing a restaurant/bar's insurance policy, because the City requires that policy be concurrent with the liquor "license year." Most insurance companies issue policies for a year from the time you place it in force. The City requirement could force an insurance company to go through manual gyrations to calculate a premium for the period to April 30.

Seems to me that the City could just require a liquor licensee to provide evidence of insurance in force during the period of the license. It wouldn't be that hard to calendar a reminder to expect evidence of insurance in-force prior to the expiration date of a policy. If they don't get it, then they just go out and collect the license and shut off liquor sales.