The Wisconsin Avenue Safeway’s application to sell beer and wine was rejected last week after a year-long struggle between Georgetown community leaders and the supermarket, which had hoped to compete with local alcohol vendors.

The District’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board denied Safeway’s request for a Class B liquor license because the supermarket is within 400 feet of a District public school. Last week’s ruling followed lengthy negotiations between local community groups, including Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, and the supermarket.

Safeway first applied for a liquor license in April 2003, but was immediately challenged by the ANC, which protested because of the proximity to Hardy Middle School and the Jeleff Boys and Girls Club.

The ANC also said that a permit would have a “negative effect on peace, order and quiet [and] on vehicular and pedestrian safety.”

The ANC had allocated $500 for legal services to support its case.

While ANC recommendations are non-binding, its opinions tend to carry “great weight” in influencing ABC Board decisions, according to ANC Commissioner Mike Glick (COL ’05). Glick was one of two dissenters in the June 2003 5-2 vote discouraging Safeway’s request.

While Glick was in favor of Safeway obtaining the license, he said that he felt that the store “didn’t play it smart” in its negotiations with the ANC.

The Wisconsin Avenue Safeway could not be reached for comment.

Safeway used a technicality – a tax change – to subdivide its parking lot into a separate property, effectively making the store outside the 400 foot restrictive zone around the school.

The edge of Safeway’s property, the parking lot bordering Wisconsin Avenue is 123 feet away from the Hardy School, but the store itself is 420 feet removed. While legal, and similar to a precedent set by Fresh Fields, the tactic left a “bad taste in [the ANC’s] mouth,” Glick said.

The national supermarket chain sells alcohol in other Washington, D.C., stores.

Scott Stapleton (SFS ’05), an Oakland, Calif., Safeway shopper, lamented the decision that had been pending since he was a sophomore.

“I only buy my liquor at Safeway,” he said, adding that the chain’s “club specials” would make competing liquor stores such as Wagner’s and Towne Liquors seem “overpriced.”

Safeway representative Craig Muckle told the Georgetown Current that he was unsure if the supermarket would appeal the decision. He added, however, that the company would be open to negotiating a voluntary agreement with the ANC in the future.

Glick said he thinks Safeway should try again and notes it will have a better chance if it addresses ANC concerns over procedures for checkout, the location of alcohol in the store and the training of cashiers.