Oglesby to vote soon on Route 351 liquor store

The Oglesby City Council will vote in February on whether to add a liquor license, enabling a small chain of liquor stores to put a location on Route 351.

On Tuesday, the council was scheduled to vote on whether to add a liquor license. If approved, the new store would be at 210 N. Columbia Ave., across from the Root Beer Stand.

Kamleshkumar Patel told the council that he owns other liquor stores, including Route 66 Tobacco Liquor and Gaming in Braidwood. Patel said the location is 4,200 square feet to be used mostly for retail space, although he does envision six gaming terminals.

Mayor Jason Curran said he wanted reassurance that there would be no sale of drug paraphernalia such as glass pipes.

“No glass products or anything like that,” Patel said.

Curran said he’d seen pictures of Patel’s other locations, and “they all look great.”

But other commissioners wanted to hear more information. Commissioner Tony Stefanelli, who moved to table the licensure, questioned until he heard details of the project.

“I’d like to see more than just this floor plan given us,” Stefanelli said. “I just need a better understanding, that’s all.”

“I don’t think two weeks is going to set anybody back,” Commissioner Rich Baldridge said.

Separately, Curran appointed Ross Baker as city engineer, and the council voted unanimously to ratify the appointment.

Baker replaces Jim Clinard, who’s worked on Oglesby city projects more than 20 years and who retired from Chamlin & Associates in Peru at the end of 2024.

Finally, a Wednesday meeting of the Oglesby Plan Commission at the Elks Lodge to discuss the April 1 referendum was not simulcast. The city will make a recording available later.