Committee backs liquor-license transfer for El Chavo Super Mercado at 15 Ocean Avenue

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted May 8 to ask the clerk to prepare a resolution recommending that the full Board approve a Type 21 off‑sale general liquor license for El Chavo Super Mercado at 15 Ocean Avenue.

The committee’s action follows an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) liaison unit report recommending approval with conditions, and public comment from neighborhood representatives supporting reuse of a long‑vacant corner store. The committee’s positive recommendation will go to the full Board of Supervisors on the May 20 agenda unless otherwise stated.

Officer Natalie Viatoro Crane of the San Francisco Police Department’s ABC liaison unit told the committee that the applicant applied for a Type 21 license that would permit an off‑sale general license at 15 Ocean Avenue, and that the premises are in a zone the ABC unit characterizes as a “high crime area” and in a census tract the unit described as a “high concentration area.” The ABC unit reported there were no letters of protest or support and recommended approval with conditions including a requirement that the petitioner “actively monitor the area under their control in effort to prevent the loitering of persons on any property adjacent to the licensed premises.”

A representative for the applicant told the committee the company is expanding in San Francisco. “We’re opening up another location in the Excelsior District. We opened one in November in Bernal Heights, and we’ve received a lot of support from the community and [are] looking to grow our footprint throughout San Francisco,” the applicant said. The applicant added the store plans to sell imported liquor and said it would not seek to compete directly with nearby liquor stores.

Ben Bridal, the executive director of the Excelsior Action Group (speaking as a private citizen), told the committee he had sent a letter of support and described the project as a reuse of a large vacant space that had been a blight on the neighborhood. “It’s a supermarket that sells niche products, imported products that you can’t get anywhere else,” Bridal said, and said the proposal would activate a space with parking in a neighborhood that has vacancy issues.

Chair Supervisor Matt Dorsey moved that the clerk prepare and forward a positive recommendation to the full Board; the motion passed on a roll call. The clerk recorded the vote as three ayes with Vice Chair Mahmood absent.

The ABC unit’s recommended conditions and the committee’s positive referral will be included in the file that accompanies the item to the full Board.

The full Board is scheduled to consider the resolution on the May 20 agenda; the clerk noted items acted on by the committee are expected to appear on that full Board agenda unless otherwise stated.