The operator of a convenience store at 533 Columbia Rd. in the heart of Uphams Corner rebutted stiff resistance from abutters last Wednesday night over his bid to add a package store liquor license to his grocery market.
In a city meeting conducted in Spanish and translated into English, about a dozen residents opposed the addition of a liquor section because there are already several other package stores nearby that feed what critics say is rampant public drinking.
“The growing problem that’s come here with homelessness will only increase in that specific location,” said neighbor Amilcar Correia. “There are six locations now selling as a liquor store and that’s more than enough for our community.”
Councillor Julia Mejia agreed, saying in a letter that she opposed the license.
“The surrounding area is already well-served with licenses including Fernandez Liquors, Camilo Liquors, Crown Liquors, and Hollywood Liquors on Columbia Road,” Mejia wrote. “Given that concentration, granting an additional license would not serve the public interest and may result in saturation of the neighborhood.”
Acropolis Market owner Ramon Perez – who opened the store about five months ago – pushed back, saying it is a free market and he is trying to grow his business like others in the area.
“The homeless people were there before I set up the business and they are in every other area of the neighborhood,” he said in Spanish. “It’s not a limiting factor that should stop my business from growing and expanding and I see others that worked around that in their business plans.”
Perez also noted that he is in the process of getting approval to sell products through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, and that his expanded store would not be just a liquor store, but a grocery as well.
Yamilka Perez, an abutter, was not persuaded.
“I don’t agree with another liquor store in the area,” said Perez. “I see a lot of homeless people, and dealing with trash, and drunk people on the street all the time. That corner doesn’t need another [liquor] store.”
Other concerns included parking – there is none – and potential negative influences on programs at the abutting Strand Theatre and Pilgrim Church across the road.
For his part, Perez said the liquor store business is not a monopoly, and other liquor stores in the area also don’t have parking and aren’t penalized.
“We have clients who come to the store who live nearby and asked if they could purchase liquor products and we have other clients who live farther away that don’t want it,” he said. “We see two different opinions and have to support and understand each other and grow the business in a free market.”
The next steps for Perez will be to present to area neighborhood civic associations, then go before the Boston Licensing Board for a hearing. Were it to advance past that, the final stop would be at the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC).
