Scoot over the broccoli and orange juice in your shopping cart, and make some room for the spirits.

After years of grappling with the city government, the Safeway supermarket on Wisconsin Avenue near campus secured a Class B liquor license earlier this month and will begin selling beer and wine to its customers.

Safeway will sell alcohol from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, said Craig Muckle, a Safeway spokesperson.

Safeway’s previous attempts to obtain a license were stymied by a city statute prohibiting the sale of alcohol in establishments within 400 feet of a school. Safeway is located across the street from Hardy Middle School.

This law was changed in December to exclude grocery stores from the 400-foot stipulation. According to Karen Cruse, chair of the alcoholic beverage committee for the Citizens Association of Georgetown, the change was a result of pressures from supermarkets located near schools. Concerned that the license might lead to an increase in underage drinking, CAG was one of the groups that helped block Safeway’s yeasr-long attempt, beginning in 2003, at obtaining a liquor license.

“We’ve been interested in [obtaining a license] ever since the law changed,” Muckle said. “It’s an additional convenience we’re offering to our customers.”

After the license is officially issued, Safeway will not begin selling alcohol for a number of weeks until the store’s staff is trained, Muckle said.

The city granted Safeway approval for the liquor license after the store made a voluntary agreement with the CAG to limit the hours during which it sells alcohol and require that alcohol be placed in a well-monitored part of the store.

“We had supported the protest the last time that Safeway tried to get a liquor license,” Cruse said. “Now that the law has changed, with the hand that we were dealt, we came up with this voluntary agreement . We’re more comfortable with what will be going on.”

After three years, Safeway can apply to extend its alcohol sale hours to 10 p.m., but it will not be able to apply for any additional hours between this time and midnight because of the agreement, Cruse said.

“The way it works in D.C. is that when you apply for a license, the community has an opportunity to protest your application,” Muckle said. “It may not be the ideal situation, but something’s better than nothing.”