Community members speak against allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages in gas stations, convenience and grocery stores
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
Owners of local liquor stores spoke out during the public comments session of Monday night’s City of Elkhorn Common Council meeting regarding concerns over the sale of alcohol in places other than liquor stores in Elkhorn.
However, what was clear Monday night is that it’s not exactly the competition local liquor store owners are concerned about.
Stephanie Lueptow, who opened what is now Frank’s Piggly Wiggly alongside Frank Lueptow in 1981, said the store ran a survey last Saturday, revealing a total of 144 people were OK with liquor being sold in grocery stores and 140 who were not. Lueptow said demographically it was primarily women and older residents who were not in favor of allowing sales, while younger men made up the majority of those in favor.
Lupetow said however, it’s not more competition that they’re concerned about, but more so it being a control issue, the concern of having underage employees.
She said owning stores in East Troy and Jefferson as well, they’ve seen the effect peer pressure can have on underage employees in a setting where alcohol is sold within the same walls as grocery-type products.
Lueptow cited their Jefferson store as an example, noting underage employees at the store propped open a door with a block and were later found running down the nearby railroad tracks with “cases and cases of beer.”
Lueptow said here in Elkhorn, they have a very controlled environment having a separate liquor store, as all of their employees are of age.
“We have such a wonderful city,” she said. “We have great schools, great police, a great recreation program. I don’t know why we’d want to have beer in gas stations.
“I’d hate to be like the other cities … I just think it makes kids get pressured into stealing beer.”
City Administrator said he thinks the idea of selling alcohol in gas stations is a bit misconstrued, noting it’s something that is technically already allowed in Elkhorn under current ordinances.
Tapson said having reviewed the ordinance recently, it does not prohibit sale in those locations at this time, though it’s something that has been misinterpreted in the past.
Tapson said as a result, the topic was brought to him by City Clerk Cairie Virrueta due to the conflict between zoning and liquor codes that might lead to them being misapplied.
“It’s not about a movement to endorse the sale of, the question is do we need to take action one way or another to leave the ordinance the way it reads or actually have language that prohibits the sale in those other language,” he said.
For the complete story, see the Nov. 19 edition of the Elkhorn Independent.
