Avondale Liquors at 1365 N. Federal Blvd. is just south of Colfax Avenue and southwest of RTD’s Decatur-Federal station. (BusinessDen file)
Long considered by weary neighbors to be a wellspring of vagrancy and petty crime on one of this city’s more violent street corners, Avondale Liquors along Federal Boulevard should now be put out of business by the government, according to a city hearing officer.
That recommendation, which is not binding on city officials, follows years of public hearings and litigation involving the small store and the city’s efforts to discipline it. One lawsuit, which argues that neighbors have too much say over whether Avondale stays open, is ongoing.
When the issuance or renewal of a liquor license is contested, or a business faces accusations of wrongdoing, a hearing officer employed by the city but acting as a neutral judge listens to testimony, scans evidence and recommends a course of action. The Department of Excise and Licenses can then implement that recommendation or deviate from it.
Suzanne Fasing was an assistant city attorney and assistant attorney general in the decades before becoming a hearing officer in 2014. She heard testimony about Avondale’s fate for three nights in November, then made her recommendation on Dec. 13.
“There has been extensive testimony and exhibits about the violations of state and local law, and the failure to comply with license conditions, as well as the adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood,” Fasing wrote in a 30-page report.
Central to the discussion of Avondale is whether the small store is a contributing factor or a victim of the societal ills that are seen just south of Colfax Avenue and Federal Boulevard. Zaid Ghebremeskel, who bought it in 2020 and operates Avondale alongside family members, has said that she and her loved ones have been assaulted and accosted at the store.
Avondale resides at a small hub for public transit — behind a bus stop and across the street from an RTD station — and neighbors a public park, making loitering inevitable, its owner notes. Avondale’s parking lot also includes a covered area, left over from its former life as a gas station and that is popular with people at the bus stop when there is rain and snow.
Critics of Avondale convinced Fasing that the liquor store, which had 236 police visits in 2023, is making matters worse by selling alcohol to loiterers in the area.
“While the amount of foot traffic might be a contributing factor to crime at Avondale, it has failed to take steps to mitigate crime, such as reporting crime and agreeing to press criminal charges,” Fasing wrote in her report recommending its closure. “Other nearby businesses who contend with the same environment as the licensee have taken steps to reduce crime.”
The hearing officer also determined there is no need for Avondale, since other nearby stores can handle the neighborhood’s booze demand, and no desire for it there. But whether Fasing can take so-called needs and desires evidence into consideration is undetermined.
In August, Avondale sued the city, arguing it cannot weigh such evidence when making a decision on liquor licenses. Two weeks later, the city asked a Denver judge to throw out the case, since Fasing hadn’t made her decision yet. That request is still pending.
Avondale’s lawyer, Adam Stapen with the Dill Dill firm in Denver, declined to comment.
Avondale Liquors at 1365 N. Federal Blvd. is just south of Colfax Avenue and southwest of RTD’s Decatur-Federal station. (BusinessDen file)
Long considered by weary neighbors to be a wellspring of vagrancy and petty crime on one of this city’s more violent street corners, Avondale Liquors along Federal Boulevard should now be put out of business by the government, according to a city hearing officer.
That recommendation, which is not binding on city officials, follows years of public hearings and litigation involving the small store and the city’s efforts to discipline it. One lawsuit, which argues that neighbors have too much say over whether Avondale stays open, is ongoing.
When the issuance or renewal of a liquor license is contested, or a business faces accusations of wrongdoing, a hearing officer employed by the city but acting as a neutral judge listens to testimony, scans evidence and recommends a course of action. The Department of Excise and Licenses can then implement that recommendation or deviate from it.
Suzanne Fasing was an assistant city attorney and assistant attorney general in the decades before becoming a hearing officer in 2014. She heard testimony about Avondale’s fate for three nights in November, then made her recommendation on Dec. 13.
“There has been extensive testimony and exhibits about the violations of state and local law, and the failure to comply with license conditions, as well as the adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood,” Fasing wrote in a 30-page report.
Central to the discussion of Avondale is whether the small store is a contributing factor or a victim of the societal ills that are seen just south of Colfax Avenue and Federal Boulevard. Zaid Ghebremeskel, who bought it in 2020 and operates Avondale alongside family members, has said that she and her loved ones have been assaulted and accosted at the store.
Avondale resides at a small hub for public transit — behind a bus stop and across the street from an RTD station — and neighbors a public park, making loitering inevitable, its owner notes. Avondale’s parking lot also includes a covered area, left over from its former life as a gas station and that is popular with people at the bus stop when there is rain and snow.
Critics of Avondale convinced Fasing that the liquor store, which had 236 police visits in 2023, is making matters worse by selling alcohol to loiterers in the area.
“While the amount of foot traffic might be a contributing factor to crime at Avondale, it has failed to take steps to mitigate crime, such as reporting crime and agreeing to press criminal charges,” Fasing wrote in her report recommending its closure. “Other nearby businesses who contend with the same environment as the licensee have taken steps to reduce crime.”
The hearing officer also determined there is no need for Avondale, since other nearby stores can handle the neighborhood’s booze demand, and no desire for it there. But whether Fasing can take so-called needs and desires evidence into consideration is undetermined.
In August, Avondale sued the city, arguing it cannot weigh such evidence when making a decision on liquor licenses. Two weeks later, the city asked a Denver judge to throw out the case, since Fasing hadn’t made her decision yet. That request is still pending.
Avondale’s lawyer, Adam Stapen with the Dill Dill firm in Denver, declined to comment.
