Council OKs more liquor licenses

Mathis Winkler

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001 | 8:58 a.m.

Despite worries that too many stores and bars sell liquor along Lake Mead Boulevard, City Council members on Wednesday unanimously approved two more licenses to sell alcohol in the area.

Fiesta Supermarket can now sell all kinds of liquor for consumption elsewhere, and El Porvenir Market can stock up on beer and wine for its customers. That brings the total number of alcohol-selling establishment to 15 along a one-mile stretch of the boulevard between Civic Center Drive and Pecos Road. Another license for a Mexican restaurant is still pending.

Council members had been scheduled to approve the licenses Nov. 7, but held off on a decision after a resident complained that too many bars and stores already existed on the street.

Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said she felt it would be unfair to crack down on the two supermarkets as city officials try to figure out how to deal with the situation.

"To dump this on those two applicants is not appropriate," she said, adding that she still wanted to review the city's laws on granting liquor licenses.

"I think that we've been made aware that we have some work to do," she said. Business owners in the area should be aware that more liquor licenses along the boulevard will be discouraged in the future, she said.