Anaheim Will Hear Case for Latino Market

The Mexican supermarket chain Gigante USA, facing resistance from Anaheim city officials over plans to open its first Orange County grocery store, will plead its case to the City Council tonight.

Although the vote will deal solely with Gigante’s liquor license application, the case has attracted national media attention because of allegations that Anaheim is discriminating against the company because it caters to Latinos.

Council members must decide whether to overturn the Planning Commission’s vote rejecting Gigante’s liquor license application. The council also could allow Gigante to buy an existing license from an establishment within three-quarters of a mile.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I hope and pray for a positive resolution,” said Gigante USA President Justo Frias.

Gigante’s supporters have produced a memo from Redevelopment Director Elisa Stipkovich criticizing the store for being “too specialized,” with its Spanish-language signs and Spanish music piped over loudspeakers.

Stipkovich has said that memo was taken out of context and insists her only problem with Gigante is that it will not be a regional draw for Anaheim Plaza, a struggling, renovated, outdoor mall north of Disneyland.

Frias said the city had persuaded him to abandon another location that may soon house an Albertsons.

It is unclear which way the council is leaning, but at least one council member, Tom Tait, said he supports Gigante.

“I am for Gigante,” Tait said. “I plan on voting for them. I think they have the right to be there, and they have the right to sell what they want to sell.”

City staff initially recommended against granting the liquor license because there is a high concentration of liquor licenses in the area, as well as a high crime rate.

Now, they recommend approval if Gigante can buy an existing license. The supermarket already has bought a license, but from an Anaheim business outside the area.

Tait said he does not believe there would be a correlation between Gigante selling alcohol and the area’s crime rate.

At tonight’s meeting, only four of the council’s five members will vote, setting up a potential tie.

Mayor Tom Daly has been advised to abstain from the vote because of a conflict of interest, City Atty. Jack L. White said. Daly is a consultant for a business association that includes Gigante. He could not be reached for comment.

“His role relates to advising the [association] about potential sites for markets and so there’s a direct nexus between what he does in the private sector and what his decision would be,” White said.

City Council member Lucille Kring said she visited a Gigante store in Covina and found a clean, well-stocked market with wide aisles, friendly employees and a huge produce section.

The liquor department, Kring said, was “extremely small”--smaller than those at Ralphs, Vons or Pavilions.

Despite her findings, Kring said she is not sure how she will vote. She does not support a new liquor license, but is open to a transfer.

City Council member Frank Feldhaus said he plans to listen to both sides, but added, “I can guarantee I don’t do anything predicated on racial issues.”

Councilwoman Shirley McCracken declined to comment.

Gigante has more than 200 stores in Mexico, where it is one of the country’s top retailers. In 1999, it entered the United States with three stores in Southern California. Five more are on the way. Anaheim, where nearly half the population is Latino, is considered a prime place to expand.

After coverage in local and national media, several people contacted the city with criticism, including one man who said he would cancel his trip to Disneyland.

The United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce wrote that the Gigante issue is “disturbing the city’s international aura” and giving the appearance of discrimination toward a Mexican-owned firm.

Barbara Coe, president and founder of the Huntington Beach-based California Coalition for Immigration Reform, said she plans to speak at the council meeting to voice “total opposition” to Gigante in Anaheim because she fears it will become too much like Santa Ana, which she says has become “the place to go” for prostitution, drugs and fraudulent documents.

Gigante’s president scoffed at those stereotypes. Frias said Gigante is a supermarket for families, and that where Gigante wants to locate is already about 60% Latino.