DeKalb has created two new liquor license classes in the last month to encourage community development and attract new business, Mayor Greg Sparrow said.

The restaurant Mondo Diana, 122 E. Lincoln Highway, approached Sparrow about creating a liquor license that would allow the sale of hard liquor, Sparrow said.

The downtown restaurant holds a Class B license, allowing only the sale of beer and wine. The new license, Class E-E, allows the sale of mixed drinks but will not allow a bar area to be built, Sparrow said. The license applies to establishments with a seating capacity of less than 300 people.

Class E licenses, held by restaurants such as Ruby Tuesday and Applebee’s, allow a restaurant to devote as much as 25 percent of its floor space to a bar area where liquor can be consumed without purchasing food.

The city council has initially limited the number of E-E licenses to five. Fifth Ward Alderman Pat Conboy said the limit could serve as a trial period, in case problems arise similar to what the city has seen with the Class E license.

The liquor commission suspended the Class E license of The Barn, 1215 Blackhawk Road, for June 11 and 12 and fined the business $1,500.

At a hearing May 17, the business was found guilty of allowing minors to sit at the bar. The hearing stemmed from an incident Feb. 15 during which DeKalb police conducted a random ID check and discovered three minors sitting at the bar, Sparrow said.

Sparrow said he lacked the evidence to find the business guilty of serving alcohol to minors, but their presence at the bar did violate the law. The minors were legally employed at The Barn but were not working at the time police found them, he said.

Grocery license

The creation of a Class D license was approved by the city council May 24.

Grocery stores between 20,000 and 80,000 square feet are eligible for the Class D license, City Manager Mark Biernacki said. The purpose of the new class is to lure grocery companies that are interested in opening a store in DeKalb but won’t do so without a license to sell liquor, he said.

Biernacki said the minimum size of 20,000 square feet would prevent convenience stores and gas stations from obtaining a license to sell liquor. Behind the creation of the new class is the hope that a grocery store will move into the former Eagle location on South Fourth Street, he said.