Visitors to the 99 Cents Only Stores in downtown Santa Barbara may soon be able to buy beer and wine.
The business at 424 State St. applied in March for a license with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to sell alcohol for off-site consumption , said Leslie Pond, the supervising agent in charge for the ABC’s Central Coast region. The ABC has exclusive authority over alcohol sales in the state.
“We are committed to the responsible sale of alcoholic beverages and have in place robust processes regarding employee training,” said Desiree Anderson, public relations and marketing coordinator at 99 Cents Only Stores. “We would like to offer our customers the option to purchase beer and wine at our State Street store as soon as we are approved to do so.”
Anderson said the alcoholic beverage license approval process with the ABC is a public process and affords the community an opportunity comment and learn about the business.
“Adding beer and wine to our product line complements our selection of grocery products and has been well received by our customers.”
Nearby resident Glenna Poole expressed concern about the business being able to sell alcohol.
“I love the 99 Cents Store, and love to go over there, but to have cheap wine is going to increase the number of homeless (in the area),” said Poole, 66, who has lived at the New Faulding Hotel across the street for 13 years.
“I have to step over the drunk and homeless on the sidewalk — it’s constantly and almost every day,” she told Noozhawk. “There’s public urination and harassment for money. It’s not comfortable. We have a lot of nuisance where I live.”
The 400 block of State Street, where the store is located, has several bars and alcohol-serving restaurants, and a Mini Mart that sells liquor for off-site consumption.
In 2017, Santa Barbara had about 119 off-sale alcohol outlets including liquor and grocery stores, and some 300 on-sale outlets, which are establishments like restaurants and bars that serve alcohol to be consumed on the premises.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
