There used to be a funky upside-down sign and a fairly dingy interior where you could buy the really strong stuff under flickering fluorescent lights.
Now there’s a remodeled building with a well-lit interior, a familiar corporate logo — and nothing in the cooler that’ll rapidly blast your head off.
Plaid Pantry has moved into downtown Vancouver, taking the space at the corner of Columbia and West Sixth streets — the former home of the Day & Night Market.
That retailer was one of the main sources of a problem Lee Coulthard has long been eager to beat: bad behavior on the part of very drunk people.
“My honest belief is, we have made significant progress dealing with that,” said Coulthard, a neighborhood resident and president of Vancouver’s Downtown Association.
For years, downtown boosters and the folks they were trying to draw to their shops, galleries and restaurants were repelled by specimens who staggered on the sidewalks, slept in doorways and otherwise put a salacious spin on the area around Esther Short Park. Many of them were fueled by extra-cheap, extra-big bottles of highly fortified booze that were available at local convenience stores and markets.
No longer. In 2007, the city of Vancouver and the businesses in question adopted a voluntary Alcohol Impact Area — a far-reaching zone where sales of specified malt liquors, fortified wines and beers and broken-apart six-packs are forbidden. Drinks with names like Hurricane Ice, Colt 45, Olde English and Thunderbird — drinks designed to get you hammered in a hurry.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board requires at least a six-month voluntary compliance period for any proposed Alcohol Impact Area, according to city program manager Jan Bader — a six-month window during which stores can show they’ve chosen to stop selling those drinks.
Fortunately, Bader said, all stores in a zone from Fruit Valley over to Grand Boulevard and the Columbia River up to the city limits agreed to the change and made good on the agreement.
It’s been nearly two years now, she said, and police spot checks have turned up 100 percent compliance — so the city has never had to make the voluntary impact area into a mandatory one. At the last meeting of the Alcohol Impact Area task force, Bader said, a visiting official from the liquor control board expressed amazement at Vancouver’s success.
“She said we are definitely an anomaly,” Bader said. “Most communities have not been able to achieve voluntary compliance.”
That success is due at least partly to the responsible behavior of local company C. Stein Distributing and the C. Stein Beverage Group, headquartered in Hazel Dell.
“They regularly go out and visit retailers,” Bader said. “They brought along two other distributors who want to keep this thing voluntary. All three are supporting and reinforcing this. They are really active and engaged.”
Downtown is cleaner, safer and quieter than it used to be, everyone agrees. But that’s thanks not only to the AIA. Police patrol the area more intensively than they used to, she said, and the C-Tran bus mall has been removed.
Furthermore, Bader and Coulthard both volunteered that downtown remains a work in progress.
“The first year, we saw a pretty significant decrease in the number of alcohol-related police calls,” Bader said. “But it’s crept back up.”
That’s partially because determined drinkers have found a loophole: Jantzen Beach, a short stroll across the Interstate 5 Bridge. Bader said Vancouver’s police chief plans to contact the city of Portland to see what can be done to stem the northward flow of booze.
Meanwhile, Coulthard is trumpeting Plaid Pantry’s “good- neighbor plan” and the way it was personally pitched by CEO Chris Gerard — who’s based in Beaverton, Ore. — at a meeting of the Esther Short Neighborhood Association.
“When it was official that they were coming to town,” Coulthard said, “we made a request to sit down with Chris Gerard. He came over and presented their good-neighbor plan. It was such a welcome relief to understand that they understand the history of that particular site, and why we are so eager to see it changed for good.”
The plan includes a 10-point crime prevention strategy developed by the National Association of Convenience Stores. It includes bright lighting and video surveillance inside and out, roving security patrols, electronic safes and armored cars, and annual retraining for all employees.
The good-neighbor plan also includes strict bans on sales of tobacco and alcohol to minors and visibly intoxicated people. There are both carrots and sticks for employees — the company performs internal “stings,” requires electronic scans of approved IDs for age verification, and rewards employees who strictly follow procedures with cash bonuses.
There are also landscape, litter and loitering controls (no video games, no pay phones) and a written promise to respond to complaints immediately and to participate in mediation if that is requested.
“It’s pretty comprehensive,” said Coulthard. “I think they’re absolutely sincere and a welcome resource for downtown. It’s a nice, bright, uplifting store.”
Plus, he added: “It’s got a nice wine selection.”
