Chicago developer Ahmad Abud complained to the media last week that the city wasn’t moving fast enough in getting him a liquor license for his new south side grocery store, Adams Supermarket.

Abud said, “I never expected to spend one-point-two-million and then having all these problems going through all these hard times. I was expecting that we, investors would be welcomed here. The city’s gonna help us, I mean no headache.”

But the City says he will get his liquor license and Certificate of Occupancy once he meets the conditions the City Council required and to which he agreed. City Manager Randy Oliver says that as of the last inspection, which was July 30, the following conditions have not been met:

• Parking lot lighting does not work (no power to the lights).
• Landscaping not complete.
• Misc. construction items (emergency lighting, exit signs, GFI and open electrical).
• We have also not verified operation of the security cameras.

Oliver added that the City is “prepared to reinspect and if the items are completed issue the Certificate of Occupancy and Liquor License upon completion of these items.” So it would appear that the ball is decidedly in Mr. Abud’s court.

Frankly, I don’t know what Abud is complaining about; these don’t appear to be unreasonable conditions for getting a permit; are we to believe that the requirements were any lower in Ohio or California (where Abud has other stores)? I think not.

Update: Mayor Ardis, who is also the City’s liquor commissioner, informed me that businesses “can’t get a city liquor license until they have a health department license,” and Abud doesn’t have a health department license yet.