Despite opposition, Walgreens continues alcohol bid

I thought wallgreens had maid a agreement with the surrounding community. That when they built the store, they would not sell liquor.

Go Walgreens. I hope you succeed in getting a license to sell beer and wine. I'm sick and tired of whiners using the hollow excuse that they're doing it for the kids. Walgreens is a business and they need to stay competitve.

CVS sells liquor at their Midtown store, why shouldn't Walgreens sell liquor on El Camino. L'Omolette sold liquor when the location was a bar so why shouldn't Walgreens, I think this is overreacting by the pushy Barron Park neighbors.

There is no good reason why they should not sell beer and wine----even spirits-- though we do not understand why people drink the hard stuff.

We would much prefer that drug stores stop selling tobacco and just sell safe nicotine alternatives--it is very bizarre that pharmacies sell a poison that kills 400,000 Americans each year.

When they sell alcohol people are not going to be standing in the parking lot drinking---for the alcoholics in the neighborhood they will be able to walk/ stumble to get their supplies rather than drive-- a win win

Can someone explain why it is OK to sell alcohol in two stores at Town & Country across the street from Palo Alto High School, Stanford, and near to Castilleja, but it is not OK to sell alcohol at Walgreen's on El Camino multiple blocks away from Gunn or Terman?

Is this another North PA vs. South PA thing? NIMBYism at it's best? Basic PA dimness on economics? Or one of our old mossbacks just stirring up the rabble? (Probably a bit of each.)

Let the market (and regulators) decide.

This is another misguided effort to control teenage behavior, probably related to the tragic suicides.

If people (of any age) want a drink, they'll find a place to get it.

"There is no good reason why they should not sell beer and wine----even spirits-- though we do not understand why people drink the hard stuff."

Standard drinks of beer, wine and spirits all contain equivalent amounts of alcohol -- about six-tenths of one ounce. See Web Link

Guessing that most people commenting didn't read the article. The nearest residents to Town & Country are at the Opportunity Center on Encina, not kids.

The route along Maybell, across El Camino and down El Camino Way is heavily traveled by kids of all ages. A fair number of them stop in for snack or soda on their way home at that Walgreens.

The argument about being pro- or anti-business doesn't hold up. There already are existing liquor stores, a bar and restaurants serving alcohol along El Camino in our neighborhood. However, these businesses are in locations that aren't as heavily traveled by kids walking to and from school. Any additional revenue Walgreens would generate will come at the expense of the existing businesses in the area.

Walgreens knew before they committed to build the store how the neighborhood felt about alcohol sales. Now, it's simply corporate greed that's leading Walgreens to change it's mind. If Walgreens wants to be a good neighbor, and wants neighborhood business, they'll realize they're making a mistake and give up on their request.

Calling the residents of Barron Park "whiners", "NIMBY's" or "dim" isn't helpful and certainly isn't accurate. With all of the development that gone on in the last few years, Barron Park has more senior managers, PhD scientists and engineers running major businesses in the Valley than North Palo Alto has gardeners.

I was against it in the past but know I don't really care. If they can make an extra dollar then fine, it isnt really a store I have a reason to hold to any special standard.

Walgreen's apparently doesn't sell to minors. Nor do they propose to carry Everclear or Thunderbird if they still exist. Probably not even Mogen David (sp) "like mother used to make".

Safeways sell booze for $100 a bottle and up. At the Menlo Park store on El Camino it's way up. If people can spring for $100+ bottles of booze then they should be able to use their excess cash to put it back into the economy.

One of the best ways to keep kids out of trouble is to take the cash away from them. If they have too much discretionary cash they don't have to learn to budget it, save it, set priorities, and make choices. Might those skills be useful? A few years ago I recall high school kids in PA dropping over $500 a month on plastic. There were sure to be places where they could make purchases with under the table cash back. An officer on every corner couldn't keep them out of trouble if they wanted it. Marin County used to be the best example for problems like that. Best not to inconvenience those whose labor keeps their families in rent and food.

There are various items like printer ink cartridges, expensive tools, or expensive cosmetics that stores find it necessary to segregate to some degree, a substore, to keep them from being stolen. Booze could be in that category.

Are people around here so bored that they just look around for things to argue about? There's no shortage of real things at all.

There used to be a grocery store near there that sold liquor. And a liquor store down the street from there. Walgreen's can't sell it to minors. Seems ok to me and I doube it will become a dive. I think the naysayers are worrying too much.

Guess Joe didn't read the article, even though he claims others had not read it. Joe, Joe, Joe, across the street from Town & County is Palo Alto High School. Students from that school congregate at Town & County. Your comment "The route along Maybell, across El Camino and down El Camino Way is heavily traveled by kids of all ages. A fair number of them stop in for snack or soda on their way home at that Walgreens." also applies to the hundreds of Palo Alto students stopping in the various stores in Town & Country.....

Hundreds (literally) of Paly kids are at Town and Country every day. Both CVS and Trader Joe's sell wine and beer. Many of the restaurants in Town and Country, also frequented by the students, serve beer and wine. Shall we take all their liquor licenses away because students are there? Or should we just make sure they don't sell to anyone underage?

Walgreens is a business, not a child care center. It is not even a child-centered store. If it is legal, they should be able to sell wine and beer. And I confess, I got to CVS instead of Walgreens if I want a bottle of wine when I need some drugstore items.

Just so my comment to Joe was not misunderstood, I believe Walgreens has the right to sell alcoholic beverages in any of their stores.... I just wanted to point out the error in Joe's comment, which made his comment lose credibility.

Doesn't the JJ&F market sell beer and wine as well? That store is constantly frequented by kids. No protest about that store?

From the article:
"As a compromise, Walgreens agreed not to sell alcohol at that location and to restrict its hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The store nevertheless reserved the right to apply for an alcohol retail license at an unspecified date in the future."

From the beginning it appears that Walgreen's made it clear that they reserved the right to add alcohol to their store - this is not deceitful at all. In other words, Walgreen's never said "never".

In Midtown you have Walgreens, CVS and Safeway, all within 3 blocks of each other - they all sell some form of alcohol. And if you've been down there on any afternoon after school, you'll see all sorts middle schoolers hanging out. And there are plenty of homes in the area as well. In fact there are residences within a few yards of these stores. So far, no mushroom cloud.

Its obvious the community around Walgreens, which I pass every single weekday, are idiots. Every kid knows you dont go to name brand stores to buy liquor. You go to the small corner stores, where u become a regular, and theres an agreement between the buyer and the owner