Sec. 5-2. Closing hours.
All stores, shops, saloons, bars, barrooms, nightclubs, lounges, or any other place of business, premises, or establishment licensed under this chapter to sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages in, on, or within the place of business, premises, or establishment, even if purchased elsewhere for consumption on said premises, shall be closed at o’clock 2:00 a.m. continuously until 8:00 o’clock a.m. the same day and shall be closed at 2:00 o’clock a.m. Sunday and shall be closed continuously until 8:00 o’clock a.m. Monday following, except as provided below. All such establishments shall terminate the sale and services of alcoholic beverages and liquors at closing time. No person shall be allowed on the premises of these establishments beyond 2:15 o’clock a.m. except salaried employees and the owner thereof whose presence therein is required for routine maintenance and/or cleanup of the premises.
(1) There is exempted from this section a licensed restaurant business, as hereinafter defined, actually in the restaurant business and holding an alcohol permit, which may sell and allow consumption of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 11:00 o’clock a.m. Sunday and midnight Sunday, provided that all provisions of this section pertaining to restaurants are met, and further provided that no bar or lounge be open to the general public during the same period which would be contrary to the reasonable purpose and intent of this provision which is to allow licensed and duly authorized restaurant businesses to sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages on Sunday.
(2) For purposes of this section, “restaurant business” shall be defined as an establishment which:
- Operates a place of business whose purpose is primarily to prepare food and food items for consumption and to serve meals and meal items to the general public.
- Must service food on all days of operation.
- Must file a copy of the applicant’s meal together with the application, both new and renewal.
- Must furnish an affidavit from the local health department showing compliance with all applicable health and sanitary requirements with new application.
- Must gross sixty (60) percent of its monthly revenue from the sale of food, food items and non-alcoholic beverages.
- Must maintain separate sales figures for alcoholic beverages.
- All applications, whether new or renewal, shall be in writing, sworn to in front of a notary public, and shall contain the full name of the applicant along with a complete description and correct address of the premises in which the restaurant is located.
- Operates a bona fide restaurant by having a fully equipped kitchen facility and dining room manned and operated at all times that alcoholic beverages are sold on Sunday.
- Maintains a written record of the name, address and telephone number of all vendors and supplies of food, food item and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages; and maintains, for a minimum period of twelve (12) consecutive months previous to application for renewals, all records of purchases and delivery of food, food items and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages to the permittee’s place of business, including, without limitation, all billings, invoices, statements of account, delivery tickets and receipts evidencing the permittee’s purchase and receipt of food, food items and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages.
- For new businesses without prior business experience on which to base a determination of percentage of food, food item and non-alcoholic beverages sales, a temporary permit may be issued by the collector for ninety (90) days after which time evidence of all purchases and sales, as may be deemed necessary by the collector, will be required to make the permit permanent.
(3) For purposes of verifying that the permittee meets the requirements for a restaurant business, the permittee shall, annually, as determined by the city, cause to be delivered to the permit office a CPA audit statement, at the cost of permittee, verifying that the required monthly income of the permitted business is from non-alcohol sales. Furthermore, any permittee, upon applying for an initial permit herein, specifically agrees to deliver to the administration of the city and/or any representative so designated by the mayor, within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the issuance of said permit a CPA audit of the ratio of alcohol and non-alcohol sales for the three-month period immediately following the effective date of the permit. On written demand, all records required to be maintained by this section on any matter and/or which would tend to establish the ratio of alcohol to non-alcohol sales by permittee shall be delivered to the city within twenty (20) days of receipt of written demand by the city.
(4) The permit issued under this chapter to restaurant businesses shall be subject to revocation by the city council at any time following a hearing as provided for all of the licenses and/or permits issued under this section and a determination that the permittee fails to meet the criteria set forth in this section.
(5) Reserved.
(6) Grocery stores, supermarkets, and drug stores which realize at least sixty (60) percent of their monthly revenue from the sale of merchandise other than alcoholic beverages are also exempted from this section relative to the closing hours.
(7) Notwithstanding the preceding, any permitted business referred to herein which is prohibited from operating on Sunday as described herein may apply for one (1) single-day variance per calendar year by making written application no less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the date of said variance. Said application shall be provided upon request by the City of Hammond Permit Office.
(8) Said applicant shall cause to be published in the official journal of the City of Hammond a public notice containing the name and address of the business, along with the statement that said business is applying for a variance from the Sunday closing law, and the date for which said variance is requested. Said public notice shall be published no less than twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to the date for which said variance is requested.
(9) Any request shall be placed upon the agenda of the city council meeting closest in proximity to the date for which said variance is requested. Members of the public shall be given an opportunity to be heard, and the variance shall be granted only upon positive vote of the council, and either by resolution or ordinance.
(10) There is exempted from this section any place of business, premises or establishment licensed under this chapter who desires to sell or serve alcoholic beverages on the day of the National Football League Super Bowl and on such other days, including Sundays, as may be approved by variance on the affirmative vote of the council, which action may be by resolution or ordinance.
(Ord. No. 510, C.S., § 7, Art. 41, 9-5-67; Ord. No. 604, C.S., § 1, 8-17-71; Ord. No. 923, C.S., § 1, 9-1-81; Ord. No. 2099, C.S., § 1, 10-21-86; Ord. No. 2169, C.S., 5-2-89; Ord. No. 2315, C.S., 10-13-93; Ord. No. 2397, C.S., 9-5-95; Ord. No. 2491, C.S., 8-19-97; Ord. No. 2687, C.S., 5-2-00; Ord. No. 2762, C.S., 3-6-01; Ord. No. 3957, C.S., 2-1-05; Ord. No. 13-5348, C.S., § 1, 9-3-13)
Sec. 5-45. Prohibition against open containers of alcoholic beverages.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess and/or drink from an open container of alcoholic beverages in any public place.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to drive, operate, occupy or ride in or upon a motor vehicle upon a public street, highway, alley or driveway, while in possession of any open container or other receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage as defined herein.
(c) “Public place” means any area generally visible to public view and includes but is not limited to streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, transit stations, shelters, automobiles, and buildings, including those which serve food or drink or provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to buildings or dwellings and the grounds enclosing them.
(d) An “open container or alcoholic beverages or other receptacle containing an alcoholic beverage” shall mean, for the purpose of this section, any bottle, can, jar, cup or any drinking, or pouring vessel containing an alcoholic beverage for which:
(1) The brewery’s, distiller’s or manufacturer’s seal has been broken, including pull-tabs and bottle caps; or
(2) Said container or receptacle does not have placed thereon a closure apparatus such as a full lid or cover which prevents consumption of contents without removal and/or puncture of said closure apparatus.
(e) “Motor vehicle” means every vehicle which is self-propelled including, but not limited to automobiles, trucks, vans and motorcycles.
(f) Persons who violate any subsection of this section shall be subject to punishment under section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Hammond.
(g) An intent to possess an open container of alcoholic beverage is essential and may be inferred when any of the contents of said containers or receptacle has been partially removed.
There shall be a presumption that there is no intent to possess an open container of alcoholic beverage when said container or other receptacle is located in any portion of the motor vehicle other than the driver and passenger compartment of the vehicle.
(h) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Persons driving, operating or occupying a motor vehicle and who, as a condition of their employment and while acting in the course and scope of such employment, are required to carry open alcoholic beverage containers.
(2) Occupants, other than the drivers, of a hired bus, limousine or other duly permitted for hire motor vehicle.
(3) Establishments, including those which serve food or drink or provide entertainment, which have on-premises areas designated for use by patrons, whether said area be a courtyard, patio or other area designated for patron use.
(4) Persons and/or invited guests who are engaged in private parties and/or outings on property which they own and/or over which they have leased rights and/or persons consuming alcohol on private property which they own or over which they have leasehold rights.
(i) Any organization or other association, whether nonprofit, charitable, may apply for a variance from the provisions of this section through the city council for a specific event and, upon the granting of the variance, this section shall not apply to the specific event only.
(Ord. No. 2687, C.S., 5-2-00)
