DALLAS — A Dallas advocacy group is trying to get certain kinds of alcoholic drinks pulled from downtown store shelves.
“It is a public commitment on our part,” said John Crawford, president of Downtown Dallas Inc. “We think there’s a direct relationship in terms of what they’re selling, who they’re selling to, and the resulting crime.”
DDI is soliciting dozens of letters from downtown residents and businesses in hopes of convincing convenience stores to stop selling high-alcohol content beverages. Crawford says if stores won’t voluntarily pull the drinks, his group will fight their liquor permit when it comes up for renewal.
The drinks can be beers or mixed liquors, but they have at least 7 percent alcohol content. They’re also generally inexpensive, selling for as little as $1.50 for a 24-ounce can.
“People are concerned about the people that congregate around the places that serve high-content alcohol at cheap prices to these chronic inebriants,” Crawford said. He insists he’s not targeting just the homeless.
“There are a lot of people floating around who tend to drink a lot who are chronic inebriants or drunks,” he said. “If they can find cheap booze, they're going to buy it.”
Crawford says when four independent stores voluntarily stopped selling the high-content alcoholic drinks, crimes, such as public intoxication and nuisance complaints dropped in that area. Unlike regular alcoholic drinks, Crawford argues the specialized drinks are designed to intoxicate people quickly.
“We have proven ... there’s a concentration of crime around those areas,” he said.
The idea bothered customers at the stores.
“Whatever 'proof' shouldn’t matter,” said Grace Klaas. The St. Louis resident is in town for the Mary Kay convention. She walked out of a downtown 7-Eleven store with two 32-ounce cans of beer. “You need to be responsible when drinking it.”
In a statement, 7-Eleven Inc. said its downtown stores no longer sell 40-ounce cans of alcohol. Margaret Chabris, a corporate spokeswoman, called the DDI proposal “business-unfriendly.” She added the Dallas-based chain has been part of revitalizing downtown Dallas by building five new stores in the area.
DDI intends to fight a downtown 7-Eleven’s liquor permit when it comes up for renewal in October.
“I think that's terribly wrong,” said customer Kenneth Watson. “That's a good drink; they should allow it to be on the market.”
E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com
