By Sara Beth Williams–
The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a letter of public convenience and necessity which was 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 requested a Type 21 alcohol license for the off-sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits. There were no public comments made during the 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 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.
Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa said the corner seems to be the “big grocery store corner”, as multiple grocery stores exist on or near the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue. During a presentation from the city to the City Council, the city said the census tract is large and encompasses multiple grocers, which have off-sale alcohol license, including Amazon Fresh, Target, Walmart, and Farmer’s Country Market. Additionally, the Grocery Outlet location sits on the intersection of four other census tracts, the city said, and several other grocery stores exist in those, including Trader Joe’s and Smart and Final.
Karpinski-Costa also called Grocery Outlet a “great store.”
Grocery Outlet sells a wide assortment of grocery items including produce, meat, a range of prepared foods and general merchandise items. 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.
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 already mentioned, the list within the census tract includes Mr. Liquor, United Oil, Joe’s Food & Liquor, 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 support and recommended the letter of public convenience and necessity be approved. Sunrise MarketPlace in its letter said approving a Type 21 alcohol license will allow customers to enjoy a “one-stop shop” experience and prevent customers from having to drive elsewhere, saving on greenhouse gas emissions.
The City Council voted 4 to 0 to approve the letter of public convenience and necessity. Councilmember Porsche Middleton was absent. Neither the representative of Grocery Outlet nor members of the public chose to speak during the public hearing.
An opening date for the future Grocery Outlet was not immediately available.
