By Emily Pofahl
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Community leaders, elected officials, and business owners on Milwaukee’s south side are working together to reduce litter and public intoxication by limiting cheap, single-use alcohol sales.
“It’s in the curbs, in the gutters, on the sidewalks,” said JoAnna Bautch, the executive director of VIA Community Development Corporation.
VIA CDC approached the owner of National Grocery Liquor and Wine on 35th Street and National Avenue, and Good Spot Foods on 22nd Street and National Avenue when the shops’ licensing came up in 2025.
“The goal was to get it on the small-business owner’s radar so we could figure out a compromise,” Bautch said.
“A lot of corner stores, they depend on — they have to sell stuff too, you know,” said Lakhwinder Singh, who co-owns the two stores with his family.
After some back and forth, the Singhs agreed to stop selling single malt liquor and beer, and single shots that cost under around $2.50. Initially VIA CDC and Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, who represents the area, asked them to get rid of all single-serve alcohol.
“The ask was big. I was asking you to remove single-serve alcohol,” Zamarripa said in an April licensing committee meeting. “And I appreciate your tenacity in telling me no. But I also appreciate your willingness to come to the table and compromise.”
“It’s not that much, but it’s little, you know?” Singh said of the impact on his business. “A lot of people – they have no money and they want a cheap beer, you know.”
The group is hoping to keep the streets cleaner and safer by making alcohol less accessible.
It’s a model other Milwaukee Common Council members hope to adopt in their districts.
“I think it’s a big move,” said Council President José Pérez. “The Lincoln Village Business Association is going to use a similar model like this.”
“If we could just continue to have more conversations, that is the way that we’re going to strengthen our neighborhoods and strengthen our city,” Bautch said. “And see the real change that we need to have a good quality of life.”
The Singhs have already stopped selling some cheap single-use alcohol. They came to an agreement with the city to use up the rest of their inventory of those products and have it completely out of the stores in the next six months.
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