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Kenosha committee splits 3–2 on Momo Fresh Market liquor license; members question enforceability of voluntary conditions
Summary
The License & Permit Committee recommended a Class A beer and liquor license for Momo Fresh Market by a 3–2 vote, while several members warned of overconcentration of packaged liquor near a children’s library and questioned how voluntary sales restrictions could be enforced.
The Kenosha License & Permit Committee on Nov. 10 recommended that the City Council consider a Class A beer and liquor license for Momo Fresh Market LLC, forwarding the item by a 3–2 committee vote.
Applicant Mustafa Mustafa told the panel the store was a neighborhood supermarket and asked for approval limited to packaged containers. "This is not a liquor store. This is a small neighborhood supermarket," Mustafa said, describing the business as primarily a grocery serving nearby residents. Several committee members pushed back, citing a concentration of packaged-liquor sellers in the area and past neighborhood problems tied to off-premises alcohol sales.
Ald. Seale (opposing) said the site would add to a concentration of packaged liquor near a children’s library and declined to support the application. Ald. Dyson, who supported the recommendation, said he had visited the store and noted fresh produce and other grocery items while emphasizing that the license request was limited to packaged sales.
Members asked whether the applicant’s promises — specifically, that the business would not sell single small bottles or half-pints — could be enforced. Staff and committee members said voluntary conditions sometimes have been used in other districts through signed agreements drafted with the city attorney, but enforcement and legal mechanisms were not resolved at the Nov. 10 meeting.
The committee vote to forward the recommendation was 3 in favor and 2 opposed; the clerk recorded a roll call showing Alderperson Dyson, Alderperson Harper and Chairperson Kennedy voting yes, and Alderperson Seale and Vice Chair Ruffalo voting no. The committee noted the matter will go to the Kenosha Common Council for final action at its Nov. 17 meeting.
What’s next: Council will take the committee’s recommendation up at its Nov. 17 meeting; committee members asked staff to explore enforceability options for any voluntary conditions before final council action.
