Forest Acres leaders are asking a judge to block a beer and wine permit for a newly renovated convenience store at the edge of Trenholm Park, arguing the park and a nearby daycare make it an unsuitable location, and that allowing more alcohol sales there could undermine work being done to shape the surrounding area into a neighborhood gathering place described in court as “special” but, “fragile.”
The dispute also touches on broader questions that have surfaced elsewhere around Columbia, where residents and law enforcement have challenged some convenience stores over concerns about alcohol sales, crime, and how residents say the stores can impact neighborhoods.
But the applicant, 26-year-old University of South Carolina Ph.D. student Jasdeep Singh, says his store at 4424 Bethel Church Rd. would benefit the community by filling an abandoned space and by giving Trenholm Park’s visitors a place to buy things like water and Gatorade…