On Fountain Boulevard, just east of the intersection of South Chelton Road, is Fountain Square. It’s a modest little strip center with a Korean restaurant, a Black Beauty Supply store and Frontier Liquors on the far end.
It is visible below in a photo from Google Maps. It backs up to a 7-Eleven convenience store, visible in the photo. And behind the 7-Eleven is Kwik Stop Family Market.
Frontier Liquors has been fighting to keep a new liquor store from opening about 20 feet behind it on Chelton.
The owner, Bong Chung, rallied his customer and neighbors in 2006 to defeat the proposed store. He got hundreds of signatures on petitions opposing the second liquor store, which would have been owned by You Lee and located next to the Kwik Stop, which is owned by his family.
Neighbors also came to the Colorado Springs Liquor and Beer Licensing Board to testify against the new store.
Here’s a look at the Kwik Stop, again from Google Maps. The car wash in the photo is now gone, replaced by a new building where Lee’s mother, Sun Lee, now wants to locate a liquor store called “Your Liquor.”
The neighborhood is southeast of downtown Colorado Springs, visible below in a map from FlashEarth.
Sun Lee went before the Liquor and Beer Licensing Board on Oct. 16 seeking a license for her store. She said she had invested $100,000 in the business. She also introduced petitions signed by about 860 neighbors who said they wanted and needed another liquor store in the neighborhood. About 130 neighbors opposed her store.
Chung produced petitions with signatures of 75 neighbors opposed to Your Liquor and about 50 who favored it. Frontier Liquors also was supported at the hearing by several neighbors who testified against Lee.
In the end, the seven member board voted and ended up in a 3-3 tie. As a result, the board ruled that Lee’s application failed. You can read the minutes of the Liquor and Beer Licensing Board at this link.
Lee is appealing the ruling, saying that the board must rule by majority vote. She wants the board to be ordered to grant her application or the case resumed until the board reaches a majority vote.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Theresa Cisneros will decide the case.
You can read my previous Side Streets column on the Valley Hi liquor store feud.
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This neighborhood does not want another liquor store. It has many needs to include something to keep kids entertained. No Liquor Store the community cries out! The survey was fraudalent! The Lady is a scam artist, half the board could see right through her horrible motivates. Twice denied under two names get the facts straight. Also get more recent photos the have completely remodeled the area it looks great! Thank You City Of Colrado Springs. Why is this Lady so obsessed with oppressing my neighborhood! The evidence clearly showed how irresponsible her family is with the current business they have with the constant Loitering drug transactions, loud barking Dogs locking in a dirty fenced in area. So much extra cirrular activity ! Talk about Convient Store Too convient for this nieghborhood! Please Do Not Give her a Liquor store. We need to create a stronger community What about the children that walk pass there to their apartments daily? They need something the area is filled with hurting, ill, emotional, and elderly. Theres also drug problem that we can began to take in account. That many parolees that live in the area. They are trying toget on there feet.that Kwik Stop makes the area look bad and run down it needs more police to inspect the illegal activity that goes on& for more people to stand against it! No New Liquor Store!!!!!!
Hello Mr. Vogrin.
My name is Jack Chung and my parents own Frontier Liquor that you mentioned in your recent article. I was at the hearing and I was the one that lead the opposition efforts. These are some of the issues that came up:
From my understanding of Colorado Springs’ Liquor Laws, a new license cannot be granted in a tie. That is a final decision of the board based on their parameters of the Liquor Law. An appeal process is available but usually the board’s decision stands. Because there was a tie, that does not mean that the applicant have a right to a revote or a rehearing. The applicant’s lawyer asking for the granting of the license based on a tie is asking without any legal bases. This is clearly stated in the Colorado Springs Liquor License Application packet that can be obtained at the City Clerk’s Office. An appeal will review if any laws were broken during the hearing. The six members of the board were experienced and the chairperson kept the hearing very orderly, consulting with the city attorney that was present with any legal matters. There were no laws broken during the trial.
Also, the wording “Wants and Needs” is two separate items and not a single issue. The “Wants “ of the community can be expressed from opinion polls, members of the community showing up at the hearing, and also letters to the board. But the board has in their power the discretion to how much weight they want to put on a testimony from a member of the community. At the hearing, the opinion poll results were in question because of the validity of the answers from the poll takers. The Board believe that the polls taken from Mrs. Lee’s daughter-in-law was tainted based on the result that 100% of surveyed said they want a new store in the area. A 100% survey is unheard of. Also, the Board took into consideration the letters from the community that strongly opposed the granting of a new store: from both local churches, from both local school Principals, from the Director of Boys and Girls Club of America, from Liz’s Place – a shelter for battered and abused women and women with alcohol and drug dependency rehabilitation center, from Volunteers of America – nursing and assisted living care facility, from retirement apartment complex with around 50 signatures from the staff and occupants, and from local business owners. I believe that the Board took these letters seriously and put a lot of weight on them which they have the power to do so according to the Liquor application packet. If you would like a copy of these letter, I will be happy to share them with you.
But, the more important item is the “Needs”. The Liquor application clearly states that the one of the parameters that the new applicant must meet is to prove that the reasonable needs of the community is not being meet by the an existing liquor store. According to the application packet, the burden of proving “Needs” resides on the new applicant and at the trial, the applicant could not prove this. My parents have been in the Liquor store business for 32 years. They know how to run Liquor stores and they exceed the reasonable needs of the community. What is a reasonable need? More selection, better prices, geographical location. Let’s start with the easy one, geographical location. As you mentioned in your article, the proposed site is 20 feet away. 20 feet! I can make an argument if it was across the street at 20 feet but we are on the same corner, with parking lots that drives through each other! Where is there a geographical “Need”? There is none. The next one is selection. The proposed new store would have been approximately 2500 square feet including the cooler and storage area. The existing Frontier Liquor has over 3700 square foot and every available space is occupied with inventory. I do not see any advantage of the new proposed store being much smaller, only disadvantages. So, less selection. The next item is Prices and this item is based on the last issue of storage and display area. A liquor store’s prices are based on how much inventory they can buy at one time and store it inside of the store. Liquor laws do not permit the storage of inventory in other facilities. Bigger the single purchase from Liquor wholesalers, larger the discounts, better the end user’s prices. Also for selection, larger stores can have more of a variety of items for their guests. America was built on free enterprise and we do believe in fair competition. And, competition is not one of the parameters for denying a Liquor license. But what happens if a new store is granted? Everyone thinks that it will bring down prices because of competition. This is not true, it will actually have an opposite effect. There is only a set amount of existing business. A new store should not make the community drink more liquor. That would bring on a whole new set of problems and more reasons for denying a new license. What a new license will do is split the existing business and now no one wins, including the customers because now neither store can buy in volume. Prices at both stores will go up. The burden of proving “Needs” was not meet by the new applicant at the hearing.
Lastly, the one item that came up in the hearing that I thought was very enlighten was how many Liquor stores are there in the area? The application process sets a one half mile boundary from the place of the proposed business where residents and business owners can express their opinions. In that one half mile boundary, there are only two, Frontier Liquor and Sam’s Club Liquor on Academy. But, from the border of the boundary, if you see one half mile out, there are 12 liquor stores. In a one square mile area, we have 14 liquor stores! I think the residents have more than enough choices of liquor stores.
Thank you for your article in the Gazette informing the community of what is happening in this issue. As attorney Vince Linden mentioned, this is a big case in the Liquor business because it can set a precedence on where can liquor stores be set up. Pretty much you can have two or more store right next to each other! It is not like a two hamburger restaurants being side by side. The restaurants will have hamburgers but each store will have their own versions. In the liquor stores, we are selling exact banded items in exact packages. Have you ever seen two McDonalds side by side? There are many cities in Colorado that adopted a proximity rule in their liquor laws. 1000 feet of an existing store should be a good distance. I hope The City Colorado Springs will also look into this rule because it will better protect the wants and needs of the community. Now, isn’t that the true reason why we have a liquor board?
I just wanted to say a few words. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if I can be of any service. Thank you!
Jack Chung