Liquor stores are back on the agenda tonight – Gladewater City Council members are poised to walk back recent votes on two pending developments.
The elected officials met with city attorney Ronald Stutes in executive session last week, discussing a handful of topics behind closed doors during their regular meeting Aug. 21. They also heard from a partner of one of the projects denied Specific Use Permits (SUP) in mid-July.
“I respectfully ask for your support so that Nebula Vapes & Liquor at 807 S. Tyler St. can begin serving the community immediately,” Ram Hari Adhikari said, “creating jobs, generating tax revenue and helping Gladewater grow.”
One of four partners who attended this month’s council meeting, Adhikari addressed the council early in the session during Citizens Comments. He noted the liquor store planned for the second storefront of the Penny’s Food & Fuel property is not a new type of business there, succeeding Vice City in the spot.
“We have made a very large investment in Gladewater,” he added. “In total, we purchased the business for about $3.5 million… Out of this, $700,000 was invested specifically for the liquor and vapes business. This shows my seriousness and long-term commitment to this community.”
Last month, council members considered Specific Use Permits for the Nebula project as well as a liquor store development by Sam Patel at 1004 E. Broadway Ave. The elected officials unanimously denied both SUP applications, citing concerns that seven such stores is too many for a community the size of Gladewater.
City codes don’t clearly link Specific Use Permits to liquor stores, which are tied to Heavy Commercial zoning and to licensing that doesn’t explicitly require council approval.
Adhikari noted the state has already approved and issued the necessary liquor license and the developers are ready to begin doing business immediately.
“We trusted the process, invested millions and followed every rule carefully.”
The council spent about an hour and 15 minutes in closed session Aug. 21, not just for legal advice on liquor stores but also regarding property on W. Commerce Street and Ferry Street and for an update on an underage house party at Lake Gladewater. Property and consultation with counsel are common exceptions to the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Returning to open session, the group took no action on the house party, but they did approve deeding a property to Gladewater Economic Development Corporation and unanimously approved revisiting the liquor store issue at a coming meeting.
This week’s special session agenda, set for 6 p.m. Aug. 26, includes discussion and consideration to rescind the previous action denying requests for SUPs for the two properties. The meeting will also include a budget workshop and record vote on the city’s proposed tax rate for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 along with consideration of a recommended firm to perform the financial audit for FY25.
[CORRECTION: The print version of this story in Thursday’s edition has the wrong date for the special session, happening tonight, not Aug. 28.]