K1 Speed has applied for alcohol license that requires sales of meals. As it is now, K1 Speed has little more than a snack bar.

K1 Speed, an indoor go kart racing operation with a zero tolerance policy when it comes to alcohol and racing go karts, has plans to get a liquor license.

K1 Speed signed a 10-year lease in 2013.

The city has already issued a zoning affidavit to California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control opening the door for K1 Speed to get a Type 41 license (beer and wine). This license requires substantial sales of meals. As it is now, K1 Speed has little more than a snack bar with pretzels, pizza, chips, candy, and sodas.

Lowell Elementary 1956. Students kicked balls into the adjacent junkyard and retrieved them amongst junked cars.

The go kart joint may have an uphill battle what with a K-8 school right across the street.

Perkins was originally named Lowell in memory of a poet and statesman (and a previously-named local school that was abandoned in the 1920s). The school was built in its current location during World War II, but not at its current scale until decades later. A junkyard was once located where the middle school classrooms are now. During recess, school children could be seen kicking balls into the junkyard and going in to retrieve them amongst old junked cars. In 1992, the school was renamed Perkins to honor a beloved Lowell principal from the 1960s/1970s.

Café La Dona across the street from Perkins was denied a liquor license in 1998 due to protests.

According to Kerry Santoro, land development deputy director for the city’s development services department, the city doesn’t have any restrictions regarding the issuance of Type 41 alcohol licenses and proximity to schools. This is the state’s call. Santoro explained that zoning affidavits are done whenever the state asks. Its sole purpose is to verify that zoning matches up with the type of alcohol license being applied for.

Total Combat Paintball, next door to K1 Speed, applied for a beer and wine license. On hold due to protests.

Despite the requested affidavit, Tannie Kelpin, an alcohol licensing supervisor with the state, said she has no record of an application for K1 Speed yet. Kelpin said that a school is a consideration point. But information on their website states that “mere proximity by itself is not sufficient to deny the license.”

Strozzi across the street serves beer and wine. Their liquor license expires July 2017.

I checked in with the school district to get their take on a liquor license being issued across the street from a school. They referred me back to the state’s Alcoholicic Beverage Control as it wasn’t their call.

State records show that 1709 Main has been issued an alcohol license since at least 1994 until 2011. Most recently, as Restaurant Depot (1998 – 2011). Before that, Young’s Market. Both were beer and wine importers and wholesalers.

K1 Speed may not know about the eminent domain proceedings between the school district and their landlord.

Councilmember David Alvarez’s office told me that another nearby business on Main Street had either been recently denied a liquor license or was about to be denied one by the police — based on its close proximity to Perkins. I wasn’t able to get confirmation from the police department on this.

From checking state records, I did find two businesses across the street from the school that have applied for liquor licenses that were protested. Café La Dona on Newton Avenue in 1998 was protested and denied.

According to the city and the school district, the liquor license is the state's call.

More recently Total Combat Paintball at 1699 Main (next to K1 Speed), has a license pending that has been on hold since November 2016 due to protests. In a 2015 Yelp! review, a customer stated that the paintball business owner told her “they're waiting on their beer license and it should be ready by August.”

One other business directly across the street from the school is Strozzi, an Italian restaurant on Newton that serves beer and wine. Their license expires this July.

The other major obstacle that I’m not sure if K1 Speed knows about or not is the current eminent domain proceedings between the San Diego Unified School District and their landlord, Young’s Market (property owner).

The school district couldn’t comment much further than to confirm that they have initiated legal proceedings to acquire the property and that the plan is to expand Perkins campus and add a play area.

Young’s Market is a fifth-generation family business that started making spirits right after Prohibition ended in the 1930s. They acquired a Dr. Pepper franchise in the 1940s, according to their website. They had previously put 1709 Main up for sale circa 2011.

According to 2013 documentation, the school district had several discussions with Young’s Market about purchasing 1709 Main. Things must not have gone well because Young’s Market signed a 10-year lease with K1 Speed in 2013.

In 2015, it looks like there was some kind of conflict when the school district wanted to do environmental testing at 1709 Main in connection with acquiring the property.

Based on 2015 and 2016 lobbying documentation it doesn’t appear that Young’s Market is adverse to selling the school district their property. In 2015, they paid a lobbyist $12,000 to lobby Barrio Logan’s councilmember’s office (Alvarez) to gain the school district's support to sell them their property.

Lisa Schmidt from Alvarez’s office said the plan for 1709 Main, if and when it is acquired, is as a joint use space for Perkins and the community. This is something Alvarez has been championing since he took office in 2010, Schmidt said. Alvarez attended Perkins and grew up on nearby Newton Avenue. “The kids at Perkins only have a concrete playground but no park,” said Schmidt. “This would be a space for the community to share and would include a soccer field. The property was up for sale and an offer was made, but no deal could be made." Schmidt said that Prop Z bond money was available and the Port might contribute since the school is in their backyard — projects like this help mitigate the impacts to the community from living so close to Port operations.

Schmidt emailed me a 2012 proposal that Alvarez submitted to the Port, currently on the Port’s unfunded project list. The project would involve a partnership between the school district, Port, and the city. Part of the park would be fenced in during school hours but available to the community otherwise. Plans include shutting down part of Main Street between Sigsbee and Beardsley to keep trucks out of the area.