Liquor store to open soon

Shepherdstown will be the home of a new liquor store soon. The store, One Stop Liquor and More, will be located in a commercial building on 207 S. Princess Street, next to H-Mart and the current site of the Shepherdstown Police Station. The business is owned by Mohsen Sadegazadeh.

Sadegazadeh and his lawyer Kin Sayre were present at this past Tuesday’s Town Council Meeting to seek comment from the public for consideration by the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration’s Retail Liquor Licensing Board. According to Sayre, in November 2009, the WVABCA relocated a retail liquor license from Jefferson County to within Shepherdstown’s borders. The WVABCA issues licenses based on population, and restricted to certain localities. The license is only good for a store operating within a designated area, in this case, Shepherdstown.

According to WVABCA spokesman Gig Robinson, the WVABCA based their decision to relocate a liquor license to Shepherdstown on population changes.

“Looking at demographic shifts, the Retail Liquor Licensing Board added one retail outlet to Shepherdstown, in zone 35,” said Robinson. The minimum bid for the license was $77,045. Licenses are good for ten years, at which point they go up for bid again.

Mayor Jim Auxer asked his fellow members of the Town Council if they had any questions. Most did not.

“It is a commercial strip and it’s a permitted use. I don’t see a problem with it,” said Councilman David Springer.

Meredith Wait, President of the Shepherdstown Business Association, asked what the business hours of the store would be. Sayre responded, saying that Mohsen had no intention of keeping his store open past 9 or 10 p.m.

“Those hours, that would be good,” said Mayor Auxer. “When we are affected by alcohol problems, it’s usually later in the night once people cross the border from Maryland once their bars close.”

According to law, local governments have a right to comment upon applications before the RLLB for consideration by that body, but they cannot overrule the decision of the RLLB should they decide to award a retail liquor license to Sadegazadeh’s business.

Sadegazadeh also owns convenience stores in Berkeley County. According to Sayre, One Stop Liquor and More would be his only retail liqour store.

With the comments of the Town Council and the public in hand, Sayre says that his client’s application is ready to go before the RLLB. Sayre said that the RLLB still has to inspect the location and conduct a background check on Sadegazadeh before a retail liquor license can be issued.