CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — New Pioneer Food Co-op is asking for help in its opposition to the conversion of a former restaurant into a liquor and tobacco shop next door to its Cedar Rapids store.
The proposed buyer of the building at 3358 Center Point Rd. NE — most recently a Papa John’s Pizza — has requested conditional use for a Level III Alcohol and Tobacco Use at the location. Level III refers to an alcohol and tobacco retail store that derives more than 50 percent of its revenue from the sale of alcohol and/or tobacco products.
More than 500 signatures have been collected from neighbors and customers of New Pioneer, which sells local, organic and natural foods at its Cedar Rapids store at 3338 Center Point Rd. NE, next to the vacant building…