Binny’s Beverage Depot, the region’s dominant chain of liquor stores, sustained damage at 11 of its 42 locations across Illinois, including six in Chicago, and is evaluating when they will reopen.
Greg Versch, director of communications, said Wednesday no stores will be closed permanently. He emphasized Binny’s builds deep ties in the communities it serves.
“With our employee base and the relationships we have, we’re seeing an outpouring of goodwill and people saying they are looking forward to our reopening,” he said.
Because of its cavernous stores, Binny’s has been a lucrative target for looters, even if just for smash-and-grab opportunists. Versch said locations such as Lincoln Park, River North and Hyde Park were especially torn up.
He said the Hyde Park store was damaged Saturday and boarded up, then on Sunday someone rammed through the boards with a U-Haul vehicle, prompting a new round of looting.
Outlets with less damage may be ready to reopen, at least for curbside pickups, in a few days, Versch said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other officials have pointed to U-Hauls as being used in apparently premeditated raids on particular retailers. A spokesman for U-Haul International said the company is sharing information with Illinois State Police after being contacted Tuesday. He declined further comment.
Versch said Binny’s locations in the city were mostly hit Saturday. These were the River North store, the former Zimmerman’s on Grand Avenue; the former Sam’s in Lincoln Park; and those in the South Loop, Lake View and Hyde Park. The Logan Square store was damaged Sunday, and Binny’s preemptively closed the Portage Park store, he said.
Outside of the city, Binny’s stores were damaged or looted in North Riverside, Skokie, Oak Brook, Champaign and Bloomington, Versch said.
He said the family-owned company, whose CEO is Michael Binstein, is still calculating its financial losses and dealing with insurance claims.
Especially galling, Versch said, was destruction for its own sake. The Lincoln Park store had a 15-liter bottle of champagne signed by members of the 2015 Chicago Cubs and appraised at $3,000 that was to be auctioned off for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Versch said. It was smashed.
He said he has helped with the cleanup at three locations. “I do not understand the needless destruction,” Versch said.
