LEMON GROVELEMON GROVE — The owners of a convenience store with a 21-year history in Lemon Grove were told by the city’s Planning Commission they will not be able to sell alcohol on the premises.
The Planning Commisison voted 4-1 on Tuesday to deny Discount Market owners Peter and Alisha Hormiz a conditional use permit to sell liquor. The commission cited a staff report that showed a glut of nearby stores with licenses to sell alcoholic bevereages and high crime in the area.
Commissioner Miranda Evans was the most adamant that the store not be allowed to sell alcohol. She cited city policies, plans, zoning and municipal codes that show the request would now improve Lemon Grove’s downtown corridor, which she said is critical to the economic development the city needs and deserves.
“This use also does not … move us closer to the reality of protecting the health of our community,” Evans said. “This city is drowning in alcohol and smoke shops, and I have witnessed crime (there) myself. We are already five times more saturated than we should be.”
Lemon Grove Community Development Manager Noah Alvey said that the census tract where the store sits already has an overconcentration of alcohol licenses, that other off-site alcohol outlets exist (as well as onsite sales at Dirk’s Nite Club, just 525 feet away), and that the crime rate for the area is more than double the citywide average.
Some of the commissioners discussed the fact that only two of the 10 off-sale liquor licenses in the area’s census tract belong to “mom-and-pop” type businesses and the rest are held by stores like Albertsons, Food 4 Less, CVS and Sprouts.
But no distinction or special privileges are made in the city’s municipal code about the type of stores that sell alcohol. Alvey said that based on California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations, there are only supposed to be two licenses to sell liquor in that area, not 10.
A county Sheriff’s report found that in 2020, the district where Discount Market is located had 467 offenses committed, compared to an average of 228 offenses in all of the city’s seven districts.
Discount Market, located just steps from the city’s iconic lemon sculpture at 7785 Broadway, sells snacks, soft drinks, baseball caps, cleaning products, DVDs, guitars and personal care items and it offers key-cutting services. Previously, it also sold smoking devices and paraphernalia, but recently relocated those items to a new smoke shop at 3358 Main St. in anticipation of making room for alcoholic beverages.
Steve Browne was the only commissioner who voted to grant the permit. He said that while he was concerned about crime in the area, the Hormizes’ investment in the community, customers’ of the store and the store’s walkability from local housing developments should be considered.
Browne said he wanted the commissioners to consider a three-year permit and then follow that up with a five-year permit, if the business was clean and serving its clientele in a safe manner.
On Wednesday, Alicia Hormiz said she was unsure if she and her husband would appeal the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council. They have 10 days from the commission’s vote to file an appeal.
The Hormizes are Iraqi immigrants who live in El Cajon with their two young children. They said in all their years of doing business in Lemon Grove, they have never had a crime in the store. Alisha Hormiz said her father owned a liquor store in San Diego for decades and Peter Hormiz ran a liquor store for years in El Cajon.
They said they have a loyal clientele that looks out for them, they keep the area around their store clean and work with the Sheriff’s department on homeless issues.
“We were really disappointed about their decision,” Alisha Hormiz said. “We did it for our customers who have been asking us for years to ‘please, please sell liquor.’ Me and Peter, we love Lemon Grove, we love the people of Lemon Grove. I was raised to love people and that we need to help the world. It killed my heart that they give licenses to corporate places like 7-Eleven but won’t give it to us. It’s so sad. This is what the people wanted.”
Hormiz said that they will have to close the smoke shop and move those items back to the convenience store, meaning another empty storefront in the city, and less revenue for Lemon Grove.
“God help Lemon Grove, it’s already a ghost town,” she said. “I don’t know how they will make it.”
