Residents urge council to deny beer, wine and vaping sales at proposed Wilson Avenue food mart

Community members packed a June 11 Bridget City Council public hearing to oppose a retailer’s application for beer, table wine and alternative nicotine-product licenses at 604 North Wilson Avenue.

The hearing opened after the council set a three-speaker-per-side limit. Marine Greens, representing a group that said it had gathered 601 petition signatures, urged denial because the proposed store would sell alcohol, tobacco and vaping products “next door to a church and across the street from two schools.” Scott Weissy, a former school custodian, told the council those products “impair memory, attention, and impulse control” in adolescents and argued the city does not need another outlet near the high school.

Applicant Raj Bson (recorded in the hearing as the owner/operator) described extensive remodeling since 2023 and said the location will include a laundromat, a small restaurant and general grocery sales. Bson told the council he will change the store’s current name and presented a fire-inspection report and other site work, but said tobacco and alcohol are a substantial part of his proposed business model and necessary for the store to reach profitability. “I’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said, and noted state-level prechecks by an Alabama inspector that he interpreted as approval for licensure steps.

Speakers including Patricia Campbell and other neighbors said they expected a family-oriented food mart and worried that selling beer, wine and vaping products near schools will increase temptation for youths. Canelia Taylor, speaking for residents of Pritchard, said the community supported a store that offered affordable prepared food and groceries but not tobacco or alcohol.

After hearing roughly equal numbers of speakers on both sides, the council closed the public hearing. Council members recorded that there was no motion to approve the license at this meeting; the council therefore took no action on the application.

The matter remains open for a future council decision or possible administrative action. The record shows strong neighborhood opposition and an applicant willing to discuss changes to the business plan but also asserting that alcohol and tobacco sales are economically important to his project.