Safeway Reaches Deal With Dupont Neighbors To Allow Alcohol Sales
By DCist contributor Chris Cioffi
September 28, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC – After an opposition campaign involving yard signs, coordinated t-shirts, and heated community meetings, the Soviet Safeway is getting alcohol after all.
Four groups that had vehemently opposed the Dupont Circle store’s request to sell beer and wine reached a deal with the grocer allowing for sales if it adheres to certain restrictions.
The deal was reached this week, though it still must be approved by the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration.
Safeway agreed to only sell beer and wine between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., even though the store is open until midnight. Displays of alcohol will be limited to 46 feet of shelf and refrigeration space, and alcohol sales won’t exceed 4 percent of the store’s gross annual receipts.
“I think it’s actually a good solution for the community,” said Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Amy Johnson.
In June, Johnson and three other commissioners voted to protest the grocery’s request for with the ABRA, which ultimately decides whether to approve or deny liquor licenses. Two citizens groups and the Dupont Circle Citizens Commission also opposed the license.
Neighbors worried that if Safeway began selling alcohol, it could put locally owned wine and liquor stores out of business, and take away precious shelf space from food in the small store. The 17th Street NW store earned the nickname “Soviet” Safeway by locals who have accused it of poor service and limited selection.
Safeway officials countered that beer and wine was something that their customers wanted, and 11 of the 13 D.C. outposts already offer them. As part of the Dupont store remodel, the company says it will stock a variety of new offerings, including more than 800 new organic and premium products.
Not everyone in the neighborhood was against the store’s proposal.
At an August community meeting–where opponents came out in matching shirts that declared “Food Not Booze at Safeway”–some spoke in favor of alcohol sales, and others said they hoped for a compromise of reduced hours or other remedies.
“Part of the community concern was that we would remove food items, and we do not anticipate that any items will displaced that are in constant demand,” said Safeway spokeswoman Stephanie Maxwell Ridoré.
The agreement with the ANC is similar to those reached at other Safeway locations, she told DCist.
Robin Diener, president of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, said her group feared that the grocer’s request may have been approved without any sort of agreement with neighbors, so the deal marks a win in terms of minimizing the potential impact on the neighborhood.
Nick DelleDonne, an ANC commissioner who voted to oppose the store’s request, blamed the likelihood of ABRA granting the license on the “ANC’s refusal to take a strong position against the license” (in June, it voted 4-3 to protest Safeway’s liquor license request). He called the settlement disappointing because “it short-circuits a hearing before the alcohol licensing board, which could well have developed new standards to protect livable/walkable neighborhoods like 17th St./Dupont Circle.”
Both Diener and DelleDonne, though, said they hope the agreement will make Safeway a better neighbor that is more involved in the community events, thanks to a provision in the deal that requires the company to devise a neighborhood values plan.
“We were delighted when Safeway accepted a provision of the settlement agreement we introduced to develop a Shared Values program. We look forward to working with Safeway to help shape that,” Diener said.
While the solution could be amicable, Diener said she is still concerned that more alcohol could mean less food for sale.
“Safeway promises to special order items, if people ask,” she said. “We will see how that works.”