St. Charles Township strip club seeks liquor license

After not having a liquor license since 2013, the owner of Blackjack’s Gentleman’s Club, Ann Marie Buttitta of St. Charles, applied for one to the Kane County Liquor Commission, records show.

The strip club – with the registered name of Elgin Entertainment Holdings Inc. – at 7N657 Illinois Route 25 in St. Charles Township, is seeking a Class E license which allows consumption at a bar. The license comes with a $2,500 annual fee, according to the application.

A video gambling business, Cafe Parlay Kane County LLC, at 33W624 Illinois Route 38, Geneva Township, also seeks a Class E license, records show.

Both also seek a Sunday Endorsement, which is an additional fee of $150 to serve beyond the regular hours allowed on a Sunday, according to the application.

The Liquor Commission will hear the applications at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Government Center Boardroom, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Geneva, according to an agenda.

Neither Buttitta, nor Cafe Parlay owner Kyle Lazar, responded to voicemails seeking comment.

In 2024, Blackjack’s owners gave political contributions to the election campaigns of some Kane County Democrats, including $2,000 to Board Chair Corinne Pierog, records show.

Pierog is chair of the Liquor Commission, which also has board members Dale Berman, D-North Aurora, Chris Kious, D-Algonquin, Michael Linder, D-St. Charles and Clifford Surges, R-Gilberts.

In a text message, Pierog said she would recuse herself from voting because of the donation.

Blackjack’s application states it has never been denied a liquor license.

But the Kane County Board voted 11-10 at its April 9, 2013, meeting to deny Blackjack’s a liquor license amid an ongoing sale of the business, which prospective owners said at the time was contingent on a liquor license. The club had lost its liquor license in 2012 when Anthony and Dominick Buttitta were convicted of illegal gambling and tax evasion.

At its March 17, 2015, meeting, the Liquor Control Commission considered the liquor license request of a potential new owner who would rename Blackjack’s as The Doll House. Though the commission recommended allowing The Doll House to have a liquor license, the board voted 16-7 to deny, and the sale did not go through, records show.

In April, Parlay narrowly won a business zoning change to allow alcohol sales at the business. Pierog cast a tie-breaking vote when board members voted 11-11 with one abstention and one absent.