A fresh pair of ‘package store’ requests was two too many for Gladewater City Council members earlier this month – the elected officials set the local cut-off at five liquor stores inside the city limits.
Vape products were also part of the discussion during the council’s monthly session July 17. With six of seven members present, the group unanimously denied separate requests from unrelated applicants.
“Sometimes it’s not about economic development,” Mayor Brandy Flanagan said after the meeting. “Sometimes we have to do what’s best for the community.”
[NOTE: This online article has been updated from the version in the July 31 print edition to include comments from Nebula Business LLC.]
Such businesses are regulated by the state – retailers for beer, wine and liquor must acquire permits and pay requisite fees to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Municipalities weigh-in through zoning and controls like Specific Use Permits (SUPs).
That’s what developers Nebula Business LLC and Sagar Patel were seeking, respectively, for 807 S. Tyler St. Suite 100 (adjacent to Penny’s Food & Fuel) and 1004 E. Broadway Ave. With no objections in-hand, both applications were approved by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, 3-2 for the Patel project and a 4-1 vote for Nebula, which recently installed a ‘Vape & Liquor Store’ sign with an ‘Opening Soon’ announcement.
Per Gladewater Building Inspector Al Harrison, there were six liquor stores operating in town before Vice City closed up shop in the space now leased by Nebula.
In addition to local procedures and fees, TABC applicants run legal ads announcing their intentions to establish package stores. Both businesses completed the necessities ahead of the city’s unofficial moratorium.
No Nebula representatives weighed in July 17, but ‘Sam’ Patel spoke regarding his development on Hwy. 80.
“My request is very simple. I live in Longview, I have businesses in Longview. I would love to open a store, a nice store” in Gladewater, he said, “that would be something unique for the town. I leave it up to the council.”
Praising the Patel family as a great group of developers, “We want you in Gladewater,” Flanagan said. “Anything other than a liquor store or a vape store, I would love you to come to Gladewater.”
Reached for comment July 30, KC Gokarna said he wasn’t informed Nebula’s application for a SUP was denied by council members July 17. He’s concerned how to recoup $1800 paid to TABC as well as the cost of his signage and other expenses invested after the P&Z board’s approval. Per Gokarna, he was told the council’s vote “was just a formality.”
Nebula Business LLC’s Specific Use Permit for a vape and liquor Store in Suite 100 at 807 S. Tyler St. was denied by Gladewater City Council members July 17, a surprise for developer KC Gokarna, who says he was told council approval “was just a formality” following a green light from the city’s Planning & Zoning board.
During the mid-July meeting, multiple council members remarked on the volume of SUP applications the city has fielded in recent years, and councilman Kevin Clark reminded the group of decades past when Gladewater was a ‘wet’ (and, consequently, rowdy) locale between ‘dry’ areas, suffering for the criminal element that came with customer traffic.
While Planning & Zoning signed off on the SUP applications, “Our ordinance also gives discretion to city council to deny it,” he said.
There have been ongoing discussions between council members, the police department, city staffers and the city attorney regarding alcohol and vaping paraphernalia, particularly data linking alcohol to crime, decreased property values and other issues.
“Just from my experience working in other cities, you start getting a lot of liquor stores, you start getting more and more problems,” Gladewater Police Chief Kyle Ready said.
Flanagan says she has no issue with alcohol being served responsibly in restaurants, but she’s been concerned for some time that a 6,500 population town has five (previously more) liquor stores over-saturating the market along with public safety concerns.
“Y’all know where I stand on it,” she said. “I’ve said this for over a year. I’m not voting for any more liquor stores.”
Union Grove Baptist Church is located near the Kerime’s Kitchen package store, and Pastor Brian Zappa shared his concerns during the night’s second public hearing.
“That’s already been done. They’ve got their license,” Pastor Brian Zappa told the council. “We’re just that concerned that it’s that close to our church.”
Package stores are prohibited within 300 feet of a church, school or public hospital.
“We were never notified. I didn’t know there was a liquor store going in. With more coming in, I think that’s horrible for the City of Gladewater… It definitely is our concern.”
In a follow-up email, Flanagan emphasized the council is not against economic development.
“In fact we have been consistently and deeply in favor of it. However, we are also committed to growth that protects the integrity and long-term well-being of Gladewater,” she wrote. “We also want to be clear: We value and will continue to support our current licensed liquor store owners who are doing business responsibly.
“This decision was not made to limit anyone’s success but to maintain balance in our community.”