OXNARD : State to Revoke Grocery Store’s Liquor License

State officials say they plan today to revoke the liquor license of an Oxnard store they call Ventura County’s worst offender of the law prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors.

The Stop N’ Save Market, 1037 S. Ventura Road, has been repeatedly cited for selling liquor to minors this year, said Ed Macias, a spokesman for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. It is illegal in California to sell alcohol to anyone younger than 21.

“I can say without a doubt that the store was the most chronic violator of selling alcohol to minors in Ventura County,” Macias said.

A cadre of state liquor agents, police officers, residents and activists is scheduled to meet in front of the store at 11 a.m. today to cheer the ban. That’s when Macias said he will post the revocation notice on the store’s door.

He said he didn’t expect store owner Lynrose Dimalanta to be on hand this morning.

“We have no idea where she is,” Macias said. Dimalanta hasn’t responded to Macias’ correspondence. The store closed early last week.

“They moved out in a hurry,” said Noel Wrye, manager of the comic book store next door. “But we won’t lose any sleep over it.”

Wrye said fights, public urination and noise were common at night.

Neighbor Sal Martinez said the commotion kept him and his three young children awake some weekends.

“It was like a party there on the weekend,” Martinez said. “There were fights and noise there all the time.”

Police and state liquor agents documented 11 separate liquor sales to minors at the store since February, Macias said.

Oxnard Police Officer John Ahearn said he has cited Dimalanta’s mother, Lida Paras, 56, several times this year for the offense.

State officials years ago tried to revoke Paras’ liquor license before she and her husband, T. Roman Paras, voluntarily surrendered it. A license for the site was then taken out by Dimalanta in 1987, Macias said.

Dimalanta can no longer sell alcohol in California, Macias said. And liquor can not be sold from the store for a year.

Ahearn said he stopped two Ventura teens last month as they left the store with two cases of beer.

“The revocation has been a long time in coming,” Ahearn said.

Ventura County alcohol and drug community coordinator Sharon O’Hara said she will be on hand this morning to celebrate the revocation. She said other license revocations may come soon because of a tougher law going into effect Jan. 1.

The new law calls for liquor license revocations when a store is caught three times selling alcohol to minors. The Stop N’ Save revocation was the first in Ventura County this year for selling to minors, Macias said.