WOODLAWN — After years of complaints from residents, the end may be near for Rothschild Liquor Mart in Woodlawn, the ward’s new alderwoman said.
The liquor store at 425 E. 63rd St. has been in the neighborhood for decades, but residents are calling on the city and newly-elected Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) to revoke the store’s license.
On NextDoor, a hyperlocal social networking site, residents explored a number of solutions to shut down the family-owned chain, with several suggesting they would support a liquor ban in the area surrounding the store.
“I know of community members who approached Rothchilds about the people hanging out and was told if it is outside their property it is not their problem. That’s irresponsible,” wrote one resident.
“Bums and drug addicts congregate in front of this building every day. Women and the elderly are unsafe to even walk near the same block. How has the Rothschild store maintained so much power to remain there against the wishes of the local [residents]?” asked another.
Police said the last time officers were called to the store was on May 20, when a victim flagged down a squad car and said he had been robbed and assaulted, but wouldn’t give police a description of the person who attacked him.
Rothschild Liquor Mart’s owner declined to comment on the complaints from neighbors, but the complaints have reached Ald. Taylor, who said she will be meeting with the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection in the near future to see if the store’s liquor license can be revoked.
She’ll also be meeting with other area businesses to put them on notice.
“If they’re not going to be good neighbors, they have to go,” Taylor said. “The community has made it clear what they want.”
Once an alderman joins the fight to get a problem business shut down, things can happen quickly. Another Rothschild store on the West Side was shut down in 2011 after neighbors complained of “prostitution and loitering” outside the store.
And just last week, city inspectors ordered the closure of DrinkHaus, a popular Greektown bar and restaurant accused of bringing “chaos” to the neighborhood.
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