7-Eleven eyes La Cañada Liquor

A public notice has been issued for the possible sale of La Cañada Liquor’s state liquor license to the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, but that deal is no longer likely to occur, the store’s owner said.

According to a required legal notice printed in the Valley Sun’s classified section, 7-Eleven would pay $280,000 for transfer of the license at the 1535 Foothill Blvd. location, near the intersection at Alta Canyada Road.

The March 3 notice began a lengthy state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control approval process that would include input from La Cañada Flintridge residents and city officials as well as local law enforcement.

But Wilton Briscoe, owner of the liquor store and the La Cañada Imports restaurant next door, said that’s as far as the deal may get.

“It’s not a for-sure thing. I was hoping it would happen, but it appears not to be the case,” Briscoe said. “We’ve decided to keep [owning and operating the store] ourselves.”

A spokeswoman for 7-Eleven said the company does not comment about possible new store locations until deals are closed.

Community Development Director Robert Stanley said City Hall had not been approached about plans to convert La Cañada Liquor to a 7-Eleven, but officials started researching the issue after Stanley read the public notice.

“There’s never been a CUP [conditional use permit] at that site, and we’re looking into whether an ownership change would require a new CUP,” said Stanley.

But the major hurdle to 7-Eleven moving into town, he said, is that city zoning code generally prohibits convenience stores from opening in La Cañada Flintridge.

If La Cañada Liquor changes hands, the new business “could either be a retail or liquor store, and to be a liquor store they would have to sell at least 60% liquor,” said Stanley.

Though such a requirement would seemingly rule out a typical 7-Eleven convenience store, the chain has been increasingly willing to tailor-fit stores to fit nontraditional locations.

“We’re quite flexible,” said spokeswoman Margaret Chabris, who explained that 7-Eleven locations have sprouted up at such places as an airport and near the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, a location that offers students a coffee shop-style study area. Also in Michigan, some 7-Eleven locations have begun selling hard liquor — though the vast majority of stores around the nation limit alcohol sales to beer and wine.

“The look of our stores is getting more nontraditional to fit in with the community or architecture of a certain neighborhood. What we sell is convenience, and we want to focus on the convenience needs that customers have,” Chabris said.

In 2008, previous La Cañada Liquor owner John Paton had discussed plans to convert the store into a prototype family-friendly 7-Eleven location that would sell only a very limited amount of beer and wine while stocking fresh food and an expanded news rack.

Before 7-Eleven could take possession of La Cañada Liquor’s license, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control would consider any objections by the La Cañada Flintridge City Council, city Planning Department and the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, said ABC spokesman John Carr.

Objections could result in a public hearing, he said.

La Cañada Flintridge residents have 30 days from the March 3 notice — until April 1 — to send letters of objection or concern to the ABC’s Van Nuys Office. Send letters to: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, c/o District Administrator, 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Room 220, Van Nuys, CA, 91401.