In case anyone missed the bright red posting in front, it looks like Full Yum wants to become the 3rd liquor store between Florida and New York on North Capitol. From the abra website:
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATION ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
| Posting Date: | August 26, 2011 |
| Petition Date: | October 11, 2011 |
| Hearing Date: | October 24, 2011 |
| License No.: | ABRA-087622 |
| Licensee: | Full Yum Carryout Corporation |
| Trade Name: | Full Yum Carryout |
| License Class: | Retail Class “A” Liquor Store |
| Address: | 1501 N. Capitol Street NE |
| Contact: | Emanuel N. Mpras, Esquire 703-642-9042 |
WARD 5 ANC 5C SMD5C02
Notice is hereby given that this applicant has applied for a license under the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Act and that the objectors are entitled to be heard before the granting of such on the hearing date at 10:00 am, 2000 14th Street, N.W., 400 South, Washington, DC 20009. All petitions and/or requests to appear before the Board must be filed on or before the petition date.
NATURE OF OPERATION
A full service Liquor Store
HOURS OF OPERATION
Sunday – Saturday 6 am – 5 am
HOURS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES/SERVICE/CONSUMPTION
Sunday – Closed Monday through Saturday 9 am – 10 pm
Bates Area Civic Association 
Unbelievable! Our neighborhood really needs to shoot this down. I will be filing a petition on this and hope others do too. Anyone have any advice on the process from past experience?
Anyone with information on successfully protesting liquor licenses Please speak up! I want to be an active part of protesting this proposal, but I do not know the best approach.
Hi bates street… i am writing a news article on this topic for my school news paper at Howard University. Do you mind if i quote you?
So, Shaw’s Tavern can’t get a license, but Full Yum might? Wow. This city is messed up.
bill,
how are these comaprable situations? Full Yum is applying for a license. Shaw’ss Tavern forged their license. should full yum just skirt the law?
They’re comparable in that they both involve the corrupt, ridiculous DC liquor licensing process. You criticize Shaw’s for “forging” a license. I say they’re heroes because they looked at a broken system and decided they weren’t going to play by those rules. I’m guessing some ABRA reps wanted their pockets greased and the Shaw’s Tavern people wouldn’t play ball.
Regardless, it’s tragic because instead of ending up with a decent restaurant, 30 new jobs, and a potential community focal point, we will likely end up with ANOTHER dump of a liquor store perpetuating the crime, loitering, and rampant public consumption of alcohol that already plagues that section of North Capitol.
And it matters to me because all that crap spills over onto the blocks where I live, and also winds up costing me tax money to support the social and police services needed to “support” a neighborhood full of liquor stores and garbage food.
I think the people that run Full Yum are actually doing a pretty good job, all things considered; I just don’t see the need for ANOTHER ANOTHER ANOTHER liquor store.
We cannot let this happen.
If this passes and Shaw’s doesn’t, I call BS on ABRA. We do NOT need another cheap-o liquor store in our neighborhood, we DO need a classy sit down restaurant. Grrrr.
I think if they want to take out their bullet-proof glass and become a sit-down restaurant that also serves alcohol with meals? Then, I’m all for it. Otoh, if they want to become another liquor store? F*ck them. Who is organizing the petition against it, and when/where can I come by to sign it and pick up a copy to pass around my street?
Their application is for a class A retail license, not a sit down.
From: http://abra.dc.gov/DC/ABRA/Education+and+Services/Knowledgebase/License+Types+and+Classes
Classes A and B
License Classes A and B apply to off-premises retailers—liquor stores, grocery stores, and wholesalers.
Class A (liquor stores, wholesalers): may sell beer, wine, and spirits
Class B (grocery stores, wholesalers): may sell beer and wine only
We need to organize to stop this. Find out how to file a petiton and have a showing at the hearing. This is our neighborhood and we need to have our voices heard. Can this be put on the agenda for the BACA meeting in September? Though bcc does bring up a good point on if they plan to have a sit down place. So how do we find out the facts and make sure they stick to it.
There are too many retial liquors stores in this area! FIGHT BACK! TELL THEM “HELL NO”!
I have a call in to ABRA to learn more about the petition and opposition process. In the meantime, I found a good resource on their website. For the other, approved, stores in the area that are not following the rules, ABRA has a compliant form. It can be easily completed and submitted online. At least this creates a record of repeated problems with the existing stores. Below is a link to the form.
Click to access Form_Complaint.pdf
Complaints against existing liquor stores should cite how they violate their current Voluntary Agreement with the community. Look in the documents section on this site for the agreements stores in this area have agreed to. Also, please cc our local ANC, Bradley Thomas on any complaint as he’s compiling a list to present when each store comes up to renew their license.
I led the recent neighborhood protest against the liquor license application by Capitol Food Mart so I have some experience with the bureaucratic maze at ABRA. We protested because of public safety issues caused by the overconcentration of liquor establishments in the North Capitol/Florida Avenue area. We’re still waiting on a decision by ABRA, but if we win then the groundwork will already be laid for defeating Full Yum’s application.
Let me warn you that a protest hearing is a HUGE amount of work. I am not an attorney, but I had to line up our witnesses, compile exhibits, present opening and closing statements, cross-examine the store owner, file objections, etc. I’m not trying to discourage anyone, but you will need a core group of very dedicated people.
If you don’t want to fight the liquor license, you can seek a voluntary agreement that stipulates store hours, ban on single sales, etc. That is easier and is done through mediation with the store owner. We didn’t go that route with Capitol Food Mart because ABRA rarely enforces voluntary agreements and none of us wanted to be constantly policing the store to see if they were in compliance.
I don’t have time to lead another protest, but I can share what I learned if someone is organizing a protest group and wants advice on the process. You can reach me at brendanlsmith (at) hotmail.com.