By Sara Beth Williams–
The City Council on Wednesday is expected to discuss the approval of a letter of public convenience and necessity which has been requested by a future Grocery Outlet. The grocer is planning to open a new location in Sunrise Village at Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue and has requested a Type 21 alcohol license. This will be a public hearing.
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Control (ABC) requires an applicant to obtain a letter of public convenience and necessity when an area is deemed over concentrated by ABC standards. Over concentration is based on the number of existing licenses within each census tract with a maximum number assigned per tract, the city said.
ABC has determined that only two off-sale establishments are allowed within the census tract without being considered over-concentrated. According to the city, eight off-sale locations currently exist in the tract where Grocery Outlet is to be located. Although there are eight off-sale locations, most locations are supermarkets, or drug stores where a variety of other products are sold in addition to alcohol, the city stated in the agenda packet.
Grocery Outlet sells a wide assortment of grocery items including produce, meat, a range of
prepared foods and general merchandise items. The store is requesting a Type 21 alcohol license to allow beer, wine and distilled spirits to be sold alongside it’s other products. According to a description provided to the city by Grocery Outlet, alcohol sales are expected to be only four percent of total sales, and its availability will provide the customers a “one-stop shopping experience.”
All register clerks are trained in alcoholic beverage sales rules, including use of Point-of-Sale required identification age verification. Grocery Outlet also has a minimum 16 camera system which has a view of all parts of the store, including the alcoholic beverage display area. The video system has a 30-day retrieval function that can track previous days’ activity. Additionally, the alcoholic beverage display will only occupy 801 square feet, or six percent of the store’s total square footage.
Several other grocery stores with allowed alcohol sales are located nearby, including Trader Joe’s, Smart and Final, and Amazon Fresh, which recently opened last November.
A map shared by the city shows other businesses with the same off-sale alcohol license within the census tract, and within 1,000 square feet of the future Grocery Outlet. Aside from grocery stores, the list within the census tract includes Mr. Liquor, United Oil, Joe’s Food & Liquor, Farmer’s Country Market, Target, Walmart, and World Market. Within 1,000 square feet of Grocery Outlet’s address, the list includes the above, and additionally, Quick Stop and H&S Energy.
The Citrus Heights Police Department and Sunrise MarketPlace submitted letters of approval and recommended the letter of public convenience and necessity be approved.
Those wishing to make a public comment during the meeting can do so by attending the council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at City Hall, at 6 p.m., or by submitting a written comment beforehand using the city’s website. The deadline to submit comments online is 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting. City Hall is located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive.
