Rebuilding Rules Prevail : Merchants Must Hire Guards, Shorten Hours If They Want to Sell Liquor

Over the past several months, Jae Yul Kim has watched as building contractors have pieced his livelihood back together. A liquor store owner whose South-Central establishment was destroyed in the 1992 riots, Kim anxiously awaits the day when his business, which he plans to reopen as a grocery store stocking only small quantities of alcohol, rises from the ashes.

Like many other liquor store owners who are rebuilding or hoping to rebuild their businesses, Kim had hoped for the passage of Assembly Bill 1974, which would have lifted two of the costliest conditions imposed by the city on those wishing to rebuild damaged liquor stores--mandatory security guards and shortened business hours.

But when the controversial bill proposed by Assemblyman Paul Horcher (R-Diamond Bar) failed by a 7-4 vote last week in the Assembly Local Government Committee, Kim resigned himself to doing the best he can under the strict conditions.

“What can I do?” said Kim, who has been surviving with the assistance of his adult children, one of whom dropped out of college after the riots to help support the family.

“I was hoping we could have saved some money, but we’ll just have to pay,” said Kim, noting that hiring a security guard could cost him close to $100 a day. “I’m a good citizen and business owner. A person can’t fight the city. I have no other choice.”

Of 175 Korean-owned liquor and convenience stores destroyed in the riots, only about 50 have gone through the public hearing process required by the city to rebuild, said Mehee Kim, director of the Korean American Grocers’ Victims’ Assn. So far, just 10 of those have reopened.

“Had the bill passed, it would have been easier for them to rebuild their stores,” she said. “But they’ve done the fighting part. Now it’s time for them to rebuild their lives.”

For the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, a federally funded drug and alcohol abuse prevention organization based in South-Central, the failure of AB 1974 was a big victory. Since before the riots, the group has been working to cut back on the number of liquor stores in the area.

“Had it passed, there would have been a mess,” said Karen Bass, executive director of the coalition. “Lots of people in the community wanted to begin picketing and boycotting liquor stores.”

Bass said that the heavy concentration of liquor stores in South-Central increased crime and social problems, in part, because of fierce competition between merchants.

“They become irresponsible, selling to minors and people who are already drunk,” she said. “They ignore that gang members are hanging out, and that there is drug traffic. What you end up with in some settings is an outdoor bar.”

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Jae Yul Kim admits that a rough crowd that used to loiter near his store at the corner of Arlington and Vernon avenues disappeared when the business went up in flames. However, he said increased police presence in the area, rather than the absence of his store, is what drove the loiterers away.

Regardless, Kim is rebuilding his business as a grocery store because he wants to abide by the wishes of the community, he said.

“My store used to be 40% to 50% liquor,” he said. “Now I will only carry 10% liquor. I’ll have more meat, more produce. I know the community doesn’t want so much liquor.” Even with the reduced liquor sales, Kim’s store will still be subject to the regulations requiring a security guard and curtailed hours.

Bass said switching to a mini-market is one positive way for former liquor store owners to adapt to the needs of South-Central.

“There are lots of small markets that don’t sell liquor,” she said. “They stay in business. People here don’t always have cars, so they need more stores like this.”

Of the 10 Korean-owned liquor stores that have reopened since the riots, four came back as new businesses, according to Mehee Kim. Two took advantage of a city ordinance waiving sewer hookup fees for riot victims and returned as self-service laundries. One large liquor store in Compton successfully reopened as a six-store mini-mall. However, one merchant who attempted to reopen as a shoe store went out of business.

Many Korean merchants prefer to stick to liquor stores out of fear of failing in another business, said Pat Wong, who runs the Korean Youth and Community Center’s Alliance for Neighborhood Economic Development, a program originally started to help liquor store owners convert to other businesses.

“We’re talking about a class of merchants who are not from the merchant class,” she said. “They came to this country and couldn’t find white-collar jobs. They are educated, but they are not business people. They knew how to run their stores, but as far as growing and diversifying or applying those skills to other businesses, they don’t know how.”