By Sara Beth Williams–
A public hearing is scheduled during the upcoming City Council meeting on August 14 to approve a letter of public convenience and necessity submitted by Amazon Fresh requesting two alcoholic beverage licenses.
According to the city, Amazon Fresh submitted a letter of public convenience and necessity for a request for Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) Type 21 (general take-out) and Type 86 (guided tasting) licenses for review on July 15.
A Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity (PCN) is required when a business applies for certain types of liquor licenses in areas where the number of existing licenses exceeds a government-established threshold.
According to the city, Amazon Fresh is applying for an alcohol and beverage license in the same area where nine other locations with alcohol licenses already operate. The number of alcohol licenses in the same area exceeds ABC standards of one per 2,000 residents. After review, the city found that three of the nine locations are less than a mile from surrounding grocery or department stores and only one is a liquor store.
According to the agenda package, the grocer’s proposal includes a license for instructional tastings. Instructional tastings would be held in the store “in a designated alcohol tasting area” for customers 21 and older. The tastings would be led by grocer employees or personnel certified in ABC’s Responsible Beverage Service training program, the city said.
The city also stated that the proposal had already been reviewed by Citrus Heights police and the Sunrise MarketPlace board. According to the agenda pack, police found no concerns and Sunrise MarketPlace submitted a letter of support “highlighting the benefits to the existing shopping center.”
The new grocery store is set to open at 5425 Sunrise Blvd. and will offer a wide selection of “national brands and high-quality fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood” as well as a range of prepared meals prepared fresh in the store daily.
According to previous reports, construction is still underway on the 35,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by JoAnn’s Fabrics. JoAnn’s Fabrics has moved to an adjacent building in the same shopping center.
The next Citrus Heights City Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 14th at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Citrus Heights City Hall is located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive.
