City Bans New Liquor Licenses for 11 Months

The city banned new liquor licenses for 11 months, leaving at least one convenience store high and dry.

The Temecula City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to put a moratorium in place to prevent any store from getting the permit needed to sell hard alcohol.

This moratorium comes as applies for a permit upgrade to sell harder alcohol.

The shop has been struggling to get this upgrade for almost a decade. Right now, it has a permit to sell only beer and wine, said Mohammad Rahman, one of the owners.

To read about his struggle,

The economy is getting tougher, and selling hard liquor would help him stay in business, Rahman said.

Nearly two dozen people showed up to the meeting to urge the council to vote no on the moratorium.

One woman said the liquor store was part of the neighborhood.

“My kids always called it the little store,” she said after the meeting. She used to walk with her infant children to the shop to pick up small necessities, and she always bought her children a small treat. “My kids loved to get their snacks.”

Some customers would rather support a small, locally owned business than the big, corporate grocery stores that are allowed to sell hard liquor.

“I’d rather be giving my money to a small businessman,” said Steven Alonzo, who spoke at the meeting.

The store is more convenient that going into a big grocery store, said Eric Roersma.

“I stop there on my way home,” he said. “The grocery stores are so overwhelming.”

The city’s planning department recommended putting on a moratorium in place because in the past, the City Council denied this kind of permit, though no official policy was in place explaining why.

The moratorium will give the city time to craft an official policy, said Planning Director Patrick Richardson.

The city needs this policy because liquor stores attract criminals, Richardson said. “They tend to have a higher crime rate,” he said at the meeting.

One resident said he opposed the liquor license because the location was too close the church.

“I don’t have a problem with the store itself, but unless the store moves X amount of feet, or the church moves X amount of feet or the school moves X amount of feet, they’ll be in conflict,” said Wayne Hall, a Temecula resident.

Other stores that are similar to Stop Quick have permits to sell alcohol, so they are being discriminated against, said Sami Jihad, a spokesperson for the store and a former El Cajon planning commissioner.

“Why shouldn’t our store get equal treatment,” he asked the City Council.