The Village of Forest Park and Foundry FP owner Linda Cibula agreed to a settlement after the event space at 7503 Madison St. was recently cited for allowing customers to carry alcoholic drinks outdoors and allegedly not doing enough to control rowdy crowds.
Under the terms of the settlement, which were announced during a Nov. 2 Forest Park Liquor Commission hearing, Cibula agreed to donate at least $75 to the Forest Park Food Pantry, and the village agreed to dismiss the tickets. The event space owner told the Review that, while she believed she did the best she could under the circumstances, she would invest in “very expensive” security cameras and require anyone who books a party to make a $1,500 deposit that would be forfeited if police get called. Cibula said that, as someone who lives and does business in Forest Park, she wanted to do right by the community and try to nip the issues in the bud.
As previously reported by the Review, the village issued citations on Oct. 28 over an incident that took place at around midnight on Oct. 23. Two of the guests at event were allegedly carrying alcoholic drinks in cups as they exited and when a police officer tried to check the cups, the event escalated, leading to two arrests and another customer getting cited when he was found carrying a drink openly during the commotion.
While this is the first time Foundry FP was cited, Urban Pioneer Group, which previously operated an event space out of that building, got into trouble last year after guests got into a fight outside the building. Cibula, who owns the building, took over the event space after the Urban Pioneer lease expired.
After the citations were issued, Foundry FP’s liquor license was suspended pending the outcome of the liquor commission hearing. While Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins would normally preside over those hearings in his capacity as village liquor commissioner, he had held a campaign fundraiser at Foundry FP on Oct. 20, and he recused himself. Village attorney Steve Hinton presided over the hearing instead.
During the hearing, village prosecutor Sharon O’Shea outlined the terms of the settlement, and Cibula said she agreed to it. The prosecutor said the village usually tries to reach settlements with liquor license holders the first time they get cited. Because “the village is not in any way interested in making money off these situations,” they felt that a donation would be appropriate.
In a follow-up interview, Cibula declined to say how much she would donate.
In recent weeks, the Review received several tips suggesting that the Foundry was serving alcohol without a state liquor license. O’Shea addressed the issue during the hearing, saying that, under state law, a liquor license holder that has a Forest Park liquor license could serve, but not sell, liquor while a state license application was pending.
Cibula said she expects the application to be approved within a week. She said that, once she gets it, she only plans to sell alcohol on major holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m not a bar and I don’t want to be a bar,” she said.
Cibula told the Review that she was satisfied with how the hearing went.
“I thought it was very fair,” she said.
She said she plans to upgrade security and require a deposit in hopes of stopping any repeats.
“I love this community, I live in this community,” she said. “I want Forest Park to be the best it can be, so I will do whatever I can to make this business run as smooth as we can possibly do.”
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