Riggs Liquor at the corner of Riggs Rd. & Chillum Pl. NE

[Disclosure: This article discusses actions taken in my capacity as president of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) regarding the reopening of Riggs Liquor on the corner of Riggs Road and Chillum Place NE (official address 5881 South Dakota Avenue NE) and deliberations around Walmart’s application to sell beer and wine at the store located at 310 Riggs Road NE, across the street from Riggs Liquor.]

Riggs Liquor had a soft reopening yesterday. Owner John Yoo said there will probably be an official grand reopening in two weeks. The store had been closed for almost 1.5 years for renovations after a fire. The interior looks so much better than it did previously.

Interior of newly renovated Riggs Liquor

Bullet resistant glass is still in place, but Mr. Yoo stated he will not be putting stickers and other items on the glass as was done in the past. It will be clean. He said his goal was to go a “little more upscale.” According to what previous customers have said, the store had always had a decent selection of wines, so he plans to continue to carry a variety of wines at different price points. He already has in stock an assortment of craft beers, including by DC breweries. He said he will sell less of the really cheap beer products that tended to draw customers who would drink and hang out outside the store. He plans to paint the sign and is looking at how to make the exterior a little nicer to match the much better looking interior. In addition, he plans to do some landscaping around the property. In April of this year, one side of the building was painted with a mural by muralist Jay Hudson as part of the Riggs Park Art Crawl. Mr. Yoo plans to put a mural on the other side of the building, remove the overhang on the side of the building, and remove an old storage shed from behind the building.

Perhaps most importantly, he has promised to do a better job of getting loiterers to move on and not drink in front of his property. When I visited the store yesterday, people stopped in to greet Mr. Yoo and congratulate him on the reopening. More than one told him that he needs to make sure that he does not let folks hang around the outside of the store, so he is very much aware that this was a big problem previously, and people are looking to make sure it is not a problem going forward. In just a year or two, a new mixed-use townhome community will be constructed adjacent to the property so that area will look very different, and there will be even more people looking to make sure the liquor store is a good neighbor.

Walmart Wants to Sell Beer & Wine

The reopening comes just as the Walmart across the street at 310 Riggs Road NE seeks a license to sell beer and wine. There was previously a moratorium on alcoholic beverage licenses for grocery stores in Ward 4. The DC Council lifted that moratorium in December 2017. Walmart has applied to sell beer & wine from 7:00 am to midnight. Store hours are 6:00 am to midnight. ANC Commissioner Tischa Cockrell (4B09) held a public SMD meeting on June 6, 2018. DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Community Resource Officer Sarah Fashbaugh, Mr. Yoo, and several Walmart officials attended, including Paul Hill, the manager for Walmart’s Riggs Road location. Ms. Fashbaugh said ABRA is still reviewing Walmart’s application for legal sufficiency. One issue hanging up the store is a legal requirement that the store show at least $500,000 in renovations over the previous 12-month period. The purpose of that requirement is unclear. Julia Payne, a Walmart representative, suggested that Walmart will fall under some exemption to that requirement because the store has only been open for approximately three years, but Ms. Fashbaugh did not have any information about that.

Mr. Yoo attended to ask people not to support Walmart’s application mainly because of expected competition to his store, which he has operated in the neighborhood since 2002. Mr. Hill said Walmart’s stance is that it will not be in direct competition with Mr. Yoo’s store because Walmart cannot sell spirits and because Walmart plans to sell basic beer and wine, not craft beers or specialty wines (though the store will have certain imported beers). He also stated that Walmart will focus on selling larger packs of beer (12 count and higher), but when specifically asked if the store will sell any 6-packs, he hedged a bit because those kinds of decisions ultimately have to be approved by Walmart’s headquarters. Mr. Hill said Walmart just wants to be more of a one-stop shop for customers who have asked why the store does not sell beer and wine. He said the store is not applying for a tasting license. He provided a handout on Walmart’s alcohol beverage sales policy. That can be viewed here: Walmart Adult Beverage Sales Policy Handout (pdf).

Both Mr. Yoo and Walmart officials spoke about the community support they have provided. Mr. Yoo, as president of the Korean American Grocers Association, annually awards $10,000 in scholarship money to Ward 4 youth. Walmart discussed its contributions to the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association and brought a few groups from outside of the community to talk about the support Walmart has provided to those organizations. [Disclosure: As Walmart noted at the meeting, Walmart gave a monetary donation to LRCA to support the recent Riggs Park Day celebration, LRCA’s scholarship program, and for other educational expenses for neighborhood youth. The store has also donated food items for LRCA’s holiday meetings since the store opened in October 2015.]

Several residents at the meeting voiced support for Mr. Yoo and generally seemed unfavorable to Walmart’s request. A few residents talked about how Mr. Yoo’s store had been an eyesore for so long and said he was not really responsive to those concerns.

ANC 4B will take up the issue at its next public meeting on June 25, 2018. There are a few standards for determining whether a license from DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is appropriate:

• The effect of the establishment on real property values;
• The effect of the establishment on peace, order, and quiet, including the noise and litter provisions set forth in §§ 25-725 and 25-726;
• The effect of the establishment upon residential parking needs and vehicular and pedestrian safety

For applications for a new license, the Board also considers:

• The proximity of the establishment to schools, recreation centers, day care centers, public libraries, or other similar facilities;
• The effect of the establishment on the operation and clientele of schools, recreation centers, day care centers, public libraries, or other similar facilities; and
• Whether school-age children using facilities in proximity to the establishment will be unduly attracted to the establishment while present at, or going to or from, teh school, recreation center, day care center, public library, or similar facility at issue.
• Whether issuance of the license would create or contribute to an overconcentration of licensed establishments which is likely to affect adversely, the locality, section, or portion in which the establishment is located.

[D.C. Code Title 25 and regulations at D.C.M.R. Title 23].

Commissioner Cockrell said from her count, the community seems evenly split between those who support Walmart’s application to sell beer and wine and those who oppose. If ANC 4B were to decide not to support the application, the commission would need to make the case for that position based on the factors described above. Residents have cited all of the appropriateness standards as concerns, particularly peace, order, and quiet, parking, proximity to LaSalle-Backus Education Center and the Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center, and potential overconcentration of licensed establishments. The ANC is also considering a settlement agreement should the commission decide to support the application. [Disclosure: In my capacity as LRCA president, I worked with Commissioner Cockrell on a draft agreement should ANC 4B decide to support Walmart’s application. LRCA has not taken an official position on the application and instead is relying on the ANC.]

If you have any input you would like to provide to Commissioner Cockrell, you may email her at 4b09@anc.dc.gov.