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San Francisco Grocery Store Under Fire Over Easy Alcohol Access

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Residents and community leaders in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood are upset about alcohol access at a new neighborhood grocery store.

While residents are pleased to have access to fresh, affordable food, the issue with the soon-to-open Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market on 3rd Street and Carroll Avenue is the perceived "easy" access to alcohol.

"We do not need self checkout of alcohol. These are machines that will be doing the checkout of alcohol," said Bruce Lee Livingston with Alcohol Justice. "Under state law, it's supposed to be a person selling alcohol to individuals."

KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:

Livingston said another concern is that the grocery store does not accept WIC, the government program for women, infants and children. But the company has applied to be a participant in the program.

The store agreed to mandatory hiring from the neighborhood, but Bayview-Hunters Point resident Shamar Walton is still looking for answers.

"We do not have any information in terms of the numbers of folks hired from 94124," he said. "We do not have any information on ethnicities from Fresh and Easy."

The store is meeting with residents to address some of these concerns. They have said that electronic checkouts automatically alerts a clerk when alcohol is scanned, requiring an ID check before the sale can be completed.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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