Anaheim : Market to Get Rehearing on Beer, Wine Application

A convenience market owner whose request for a temporary beer and wine license was turned down last month will get another chance to state his case as the result of a City Council decision Tuesday on a 3-2 vote to allow another hearing.

But it appears unlikely that Shirin A. Damani, owner of Prince Supermarket at 1200 W. Cerritos Ave., will receive the license. Two of the three council members who voted for the rehearing said they doubted they would change their minds.

“There’s a very, very dim prospect of changing my mind,” said Mayor Don Roth. Agreeing with Councilman Lou Overholt, Roth said he had no objection to granting a rehearing, tentatively set for some time in June.

Frank Lowry Jr., Damani’s attorney, told the council Tuesday that his client had more than 600 signatures from neighboring residents supporting the request. Without the beer and wine license, his client would go bankrupt, Lowry said.

The city officials heard a similar plea last month during a hearing attended by about 40 of Damani’s neighbors and relatives. The council voted unanimously against the license April 2 and against a rehearing April 9.

Damani complained last month that the council discriminated against him because he is from Pakistan. Councilman Irv Pickler said he voted against the license because the residential area was not suitable for a convenience market, especially if it sold alcohol. Speaking against the rehearing, Pickler said, “Sometimes, we flog a dead horse.”