Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

New Walmart sets up in Oceanside

Liquor license and proximity to high school a concern

Site of former Office Depot, soon to become a new Walmart
Site of former Office Depot, soon to become a new Walmart

As Oceanside gets ready to welcome its fourth Walmart location, community opposition is growing over the chain’s application to sell alcohol. The new store, a smaller “Walmart Neighborhood Market” concept, will be located in the Mission Square Shopping Center, just off I-5 on Mission Avenue. The former Office Depot site is across the street from Oceanside High School.

Some neighborhood activists, already upset about yet another Walmart in their city, say the application for the sale of beer and wine is unacceptable. Community groups such as the North Coastal Prevention Coalition, the Eastside Neighborhood Association, and the Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood Association point out that this area of Oceanside, west of I-5, has an overabundance of stores that sell alcohol.

Causing the current uproar is the required “notice of application” posting for Walmart’s liquor license. Upon application to the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulations say business owners are required to post a large yellow sign from the ABC, stating a business’ name and ownership and the type of alcohol sales applied for. The sign also advises how the public may comment on the application.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Unfortunately, the sign has now been removed, having met the 60-day posting requirement, and the ABC says the public-comment period is closed.

Opponents say while the application sign may have been posted in the window, it was not in plain sight. Blocked by construction fencing, the sign could only have been seen by driving through the construction area, to the three small businesses east of Walmart, in the far northeast corner of the shopping center — two mom-and-pop fast-food restaurants and a barber shop. The sign could not have been seen from 12 high-traffic-volume stores, including a 99 Cent Only, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Panda Express, and an El Pollo Loco.

Leading the charge against Walmart is Oceanside native and business owner Ken Leighton (who also writes for the Reader). In his weekly opinion column published in the Coast News, Leighton often laments about the destruction of his hometown and isn’t afraid to name names of who he thinks is responsible. Some say he is the only one speaking out for the older neighborhoods and small businesses of Oceanside.

Leighton says Walmart, the ABC, and the city might have a big lawsuit on their hands if alcohol sales are approved for the new Walmart. Several years ago, the 99 Cent Only store, right next to Walmart, was denied a liquor-sales license due to the proximity of the high school.

The city and the police department say they have no reason to oppose Walmart’s alcohol application. The ABC says they are still studying the issue.

Footnote: Mission Square shopping center holds a piece of Oceanside’s history in that, in 1958, it was the first strip mall built in coastal North County. It started the mass exodus of traditional retailers, and shoppers, from Oceanside’s downtown. Some of the original stores were Thrifty Drug, a Vons grocery store, Elm’s Clothiers, and a chain department store known as W.T. Grant. The longest remaining business in the center is Radio Shack, which opened in 1967.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Site of former Office Depot, soon to become a new Walmart
Site of former Office Depot, soon to become a new Walmart

As Oceanside gets ready to welcome its fourth Walmart location, community opposition is growing over the chain’s application to sell alcohol. The new store, a smaller “Walmart Neighborhood Market” concept, will be located in the Mission Square Shopping Center, just off I-5 on Mission Avenue. The former Office Depot site is across the street from Oceanside High School.

Some neighborhood activists, already upset about yet another Walmart in their city, say the application for the sale of beer and wine is unacceptable. Community groups such as the North Coastal Prevention Coalition, the Eastside Neighborhood Association, and the Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood Association point out that this area of Oceanside, west of I-5, has an overabundance of stores that sell alcohol.

Causing the current uproar is the required “notice of application” posting for Walmart’s liquor license. Upon application to the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulations say business owners are required to post a large yellow sign from the ABC, stating a business’ name and ownership and the type of alcohol sales applied for. The sign also advises how the public may comment on the application.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Unfortunately, the sign has now been removed, having met the 60-day posting requirement, and the ABC says the public-comment period is closed.

Opponents say while the application sign may have been posted in the window, it was not in plain sight. Blocked by construction fencing, the sign could only have been seen by driving through the construction area, to the three small businesses east of Walmart, in the far northeast corner of the shopping center — two mom-and-pop fast-food restaurants and a barber shop. The sign could not have been seen from 12 high-traffic-volume stores, including a 99 Cent Only, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Panda Express, and an El Pollo Loco.

Leading the charge against Walmart is Oceanside native and business owner Ken Leighton (who also writes for the Reader). In his weekly opinion column published in the Coast News, Leighton often laments about the destruction of his hometown and isn’t afraid to name names of who he thinks is responsible. Some say he is the only one speaking out for the older neighborhoods and small businesses of Oceanside.

Leighton says Walmart, the ABC, and the city might have a big lawsuit on their hands if alcohol sales are approved for the new Walmart. Several years ago, the 99 Cent Only store, right next to Walmart, was denied a liquor-sales license due to the proximity of the high school.

The city and the police department say they have no reason to oppose Walmart’s alcohol application. The ABC says they are still studying the issue.

Footnote: Mission Square shopping center holds a piece of Oceanside’s history in that, in 1958, it was the first strip mall built in coastal North County. It started the mass exodus of traditional retailers, and shoppers, from Oceanside’s downtown. Some of the original stores were Thrifty Drug, a Vons grocery store, Elm’s Clothiers, and a chain department store known as W.T. Grant. The longest remaining business in the center is Radio Shack, which opened in 1967.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Aug. 5, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Feb. 22, 2020
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.