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New Convenience Store Opening Soon on Willy Street

The west end of Williamson Street doesn’t have many options for folks in need of a quick bite to eat. But the storefront in a new mixed-use development may soon fill that gap. Image courtesy: Chali Pittman / WORT News, shows storefront at 823 Williamson Street.

Broadcast on:: 19 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: other

Minimart, a new convenience store, is slated to open soon in the mixed-use building at 823 Williamson Street. Eric Hamilton is the vice president of the Marquette Neighborhood Association. He says the apartment building just finished construction. I think it would slow down a bit with the pandemic and stuff like that. So this is, as far as I know, the first business going into this new building. The store's owners, Amit Kumar and Rajan Talwar are with MPL Corporation Investment. Kumar also owns the Amaco on Park Street and the BP on Atwood Avenue. They're in the process of obtaining an alcohol license from the city, but Kumar told the Alcohol License Review Committee yesterday that they plan to sell other items too, including groceries, ice cream, lottery tickets, and coffee. Trying to put everything under one roof or convenience. As part of the approval process, Kumar and Talwar attended two mandatory community meetings and met with the Marquette Neighborhood Association's board of directors. Eric Hamilton was at both meetings and says folks have been largely supportive of the new business. I actually met a neighbor who lives upstairs in this new apartment building. He came down and said, "Oh, this sounds great, especially having coffee. I can grab on my way to work." That's because, according to Hamilton, the West End of Willy Street doesn't have many options for folks looking for a quick bite to eat. In businesses like the Minimart, Hamilton says, "Promote density and make the area more walkable." To the east from there, there's kind of a lot. Bakeries and cafes and restaurants and, of course, the co-op, but from Patterson West to, you know, machinery row and Blair, it just really isn't anything. And right across the street, not only was this in a brand new building that seems occupied now, but right across the street is the former Strutken Erwin site, which is putting in a lot of units. The Neighborhood Association's Board of Directors voted last week to approve the Minimart's alcohol license, with some conditions that Kumar himself suggested based on his alcohol license for the BP on Atwood. That includes no fermented malt sales and amounts smaller than six packs of 12-ounce bottles, and no fortified wines with an alcohol content higher than 12.5%. And so he presented that to us on the committee as an example of restrictions that he was happy to abide by, and they satisfied our interest in, you know, having it be a convenience store rather than a liquor store, especially, again, the kind of the issue more with the takeaways, things used in, you know, consumed in small quantities that, you know, sometimes we have issues with seeing people, you know, drinking like that at the park or something like that nearby. Kumar appeared before the Alcohol License Review Committee last night to seek their approval. Here's Alder Mike Revere, who represents downtown Madison. Obviously you've been to our committee several times recently, so congratulations on your expansion. The committee approved the license after just a few minutes of discussion, though not without a warning from Alder Revere. He pointed out that Kumar's existing stores have large window signs, some of them with flashing LEDs. That violates Madison's sign code. Kumar told Alder Revere that he'll keep that feedback in mind. I'd appreciate that very much, and I know the folks on Willy Street will appreciate the store windows not looking too junky. With approval from the Neighborhood Association and the Alcohol License Review Committee, the license heads next to the full Common Council. For WORT News, I'm Fay Parks.