Fresno County denies 7-Eleven license to sell beer, wine

Opposition from neighbors in northwest Fresno’s Old Fig Garden area was key to sinking a convenience store’s application for a state license to sell beer and wine.

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to deny an off-sale license for the 7-Eleven store at Shaw and Maroa avenues, according to a letter from Supervisor Andreas Borgeas. Borgeas’ District 2 includes the store location and the Fig Garden neighborhood.

“This board is a very pro-business body,” Borgeas wrote in a letter to members of the Fig Garden Homeowners Association. “However, after reviewing the extensive correspondence from the Fig Garden residents and learning of the sheriff’s opposition to this license, I believed there was an undue burden being placed on the community and that’s why I casted (sic) and motioned the ‘no’ vote.”

Borgeas added that his office received “countless letters, emails and phone calls mainly in opposition to the issuance of this license” by the state Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The franchise owners, Tom and Debbie Sharp, have run the store for two years and described the lack of a license to sell beer and wine as a “huge handicap.” Debbie Sharp said she’s observed customers who pick up a selection of chips, snacks and other items, “but when they see there’s no beer or wine, we watch them put everything down and leave.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Fresno County denies 7-Eleven license to sell beer, wine."