Jacksonville council declines first reading to add full liquor license for North Clay convenience store

City Attorney Dan Beard presented an ordinance for first reading to add a Class "double B" full liquor license for a convenience-store property on North Clay Street and asked the council for a motion. No member moved the ordinance, and Beard said the measure would be treated as denied.

The application named Martella Mast for a red building on North Clay just across the tracks, previously used as a daycare; Beard said the application would have authorized beer, wine and spirits strictly for off-premises consumption. "We have not issued a double B license to any other convenience store," Beard told the council, noting the city has historically kept full liquor licenses separate from convenience-store operations.

Council members asked whether the license would permit on-site consumption or gambling and sought clarity about how the request compared with other local licenses. Beard said the applicant does not appear to be present and that, if the full-license application is not approved, the applicant could reapply for a "double A" beer-and-wine license like other convenience stores.

Beard said staff would notify the applicant of the council's action. The council did not vote on a motion to advance the ordinance; under the procedural step taken at the meeting the measure was recorded as not advanced.

The record shows the city attorney placed the ordinance on the agenda as a first reading; council members emphasized the city's existing informal policy against granting full liquor licenses to convenience stores and requested that any future submittals be reviewed by building and planning staff for code compliance.