On a Friday night last May, a 19-year-old Denver police cadet walked into Avondale Liquors across the highway from Empower Field. He tried to buy a Bud Light Chelada as part of a sting operation, and they let him.
Earlier that same day, the store had applied to renew their liquor license with the Department of Excise and Licenses. But the citation that followed the underage sale was just another notch in the belt of a long history of criminal activity at the store — one that led to the loss of its liquor license this week
After years of community complaints about the owner’s complacency, the city has denied the store’s application to renew its liquor license. The store remains open but can only sell tobacco and other products, not alcohol.
An alleged 'corrupting place'
The store at 1365 N. Federal Blvd. is right around the corner from Paco Sanchez Park — one of five high-crime locations identified by DPD in a data-driven police effort beginning in 2023.
Records from the Denver Police Department show more than 300 calls for service to the address since current owner Zaid Ghebremeskel took over in February 2020, including multiple stabbings, a recent shooting, theft, fights, drug overdoses and even arson. Ghebremeskel’s brother was responsible for the sale to the underage cadet, according to documents from the Department of Excise and Licenses.
The store has also been identified by police as a “key corrupting place” in the neighborhood due to its persistent criminal activities.
Following the DPD sting operation in May, the Denver City Attorney’s Office filed a complaint asking the licensing department to deny the store’s liquor license renewal.
What followed was a series of public hearings, both online and in person, in which three neighborhood associations, several police officers, a city data analyst and Denver City Councilmember Jamie Torres testified in opposition of the license renewal — saying the community no longer “needed or desired” the business.
Is the problem the place or the owners?
The hearings that took place in November painted Avondale Liquors as a hot spot for crime. But the store owner and the property owner said it has everything to do with the location, not the store itself.
Ghebremeskel said she has worked with DPD, including by posting a “No Loitering” sign and installing equipment that requires employees to scan the IDs of some alcohol buyers. But she acknowledged that doesn’t apply to certain products — including the beer purchased by the cadet.
Police who testified in the hearings said the owners weren’t cooperative enough. DPD Sgt. Lexido Jorge explained that loitering persisted and that, on multiple occasions, owners told police they didn’t want to press charges against shoplifters and others who committed crimes against the business.
Sgt. Jorge also said he frequently witnessed drug usage and dealing, public consumption of alcohol and public urination in the Avondale Liquors parking lot. He testified that loitering often leads to the more serious crimes plaguing the store like shootings and stabbings.
Michael Dematte, the property’s owner, said the RTD bus stops on either side of Federal Boulevard and the light rail station across the street have boosted the number of people who loiter in the liquor store parking lot and that he does not believe the store itself is responsible for the crimes that take place there.
Neighbors like Kathy Sandoval with the Villa Park Neighborhood Association disagree. In her testimony, Sandoval said the organization worked with records from DPD to analyze crimes at nearby liquor stores and found that they are not facing the same problem as Avondale.
“You really could see a lot of loitering and use of drugs or drinking on the premises. It became sort of a hotspot,” Sandoval said.
Ultimately, the testimony led hearing officer Suzanne Fasing to recommend the denial of the license renewal, and the city's licensing director made the decision final on Feb. 20.
“The denial of a license is rare,” said Excise and Licenses communications associate Chuck Hickey in an email. “We want to see businesses open and thriving — and in compliance with the law. Revocation or denial is an absolute last resort.”
But Avondale’s fight might not be over yet.
The liquor store owner still has the right to appeal the denial of her license renewal in district court. If she does, her attorney could also ask for the liquor license to be restored until the appeal is wrapped up.
The attorney has not responded to Denverite’s request for comment.
The store has also retained its retail tobacco license, allowing it to stay open for tobacco sales — but at least for now, it will be missing its main product.
