Schaefer's Owner Plans Event Space With Outdoor Patio In Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — The owner of Schaefer's Wines, Food and Spirits in Skokie is seeking village permission to add an event space and outdoor terrace as part of renovations to the 85-year-old liquor store.

Schaefer's ownership wants to combine several parcels into a single subdivision, take over part of one alley and widen two others and secure village approval of a site plan and special use permits for a bar and an outdoor dining area, according to a legal notice of a public hearing published by the village last month.

The Skokie Appearance Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved plans for slight changes to the exterior of the Schaefer's annex building, located east of the intersection of Gross Point and Old Orchard roads. Plan commissioners are due to consider the requests next week.

Owner Bill Graham said the second building at 4101 Old Orchard Road — currently used for extra storage and an annual warehouse sale — would keep the same footprint after the proposed renovations, with parking accommodated in the store's existing lots.

"It will accommodate small scale events that would be catered where food is present," Graham told Patch in an email. "It is not a restaurant, but a flexible rental facility."

---

A preliminary landscape plan shows a 2,000-square-foot outdoor terrace located west of the structure, connected via garage door openings, with one side fenced in and another shielded by moveable planters.

The existing brick structure will remain, with its mortar and cast stone to be surveyed for any damage or necessary repairs, according to a depiction of the exterior of the planned event space.

---

A village spokesperson said more information about the project would be publicly available Friday afternoon ahead of a Plan Commission meeting scheduled for March 18 to consider the requests.

According to its website, Schaefer's was founded by George Schaefer Sr. in 1936 as a tavern called The Boundary, due to its location on the border between Skokie, then called Niles Center, and Evanston, where the sale of alcohol was prohibited until 1972. Eventually, the bar converted to a wine shop and added deli foods.

After the senior Schaefer's death, his wife Eileen took over, and, later, his son George Jr. led the business until his death in 2008, according to an obituary.

Schaefer's, the business, was purchased in 2009 by Kenilworth businessman Bill Graham, who continued its family-run tradition, bringing on Anje Schaefer Cluxton, granddaughter of the founder, as president.

Schaefer's did about $5.5 million in sales in 2019 after peaking at $9 million in the 1990s, according to a profile last year in the booze trade publication Market Watch. Recent years have seen the closures of many family-owned wine shops in the Chicago market, according to the publication, with changing demand, difficulty finding qualified staff and the expansion of big box retailers, such as Binny's Beverage Depot and Costco, contributing to the challenges for smaller operators.