Residents of west Louisville protest proposed liquor store on Wilson Avenue

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some west Louisville residents are protesting a proposed liquor store in their neighborhood.

Mazco L.L.C has applied to turn an old bank building at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Algonquin Parkway into a liquor store. The owners didn't respond to a request for comment, but area residents gathered Thursday evening to get their message across loud and clear.

"This is a no-no," said Verlina King, who has lived in the area for two decades and does not want to see another liquor store in her neighborhood. "We don't want this liquor store here, and it shouldn't be here."

Dozens of community members, pastors and elected officials showed up to the protest. They were holding signs and chanting "no more liquor" stores, garnering honks and cheers from passing drivers on the street.

Some residents feel the area already has an influx of liquor stores. They feel the booze is a burden, saying it leads to an increase in drugs and crime activity.

"We're looking at children getting shot, we're looking at children running around with no purpose, we're looking at children with no hope, without a future," Juanita Rutledge said.

Some say the business would prey on an already vulnerable population of the city.

"Think about enhancing us," King said. "Don't think about continuing to depress us, to make us become more oppressed and disenfranchised."

Community members are not trying to discourage other businesses from moving in but wish they were considered in the process to tell potential buyers what the area needs.

"Fresh food store, fast food restaurant, a health center, put another bank right here, ask what we need in this community," said Denille Johnson, whose husband is the pastor at a church just down the road from the proposed liquor store. She spent hours out on the street spreading her message.

King, Johnson and Rutledge were just some of the community members who took the time to attend the protest and get their voices heard. Louisville Metro Councilwoman Mary Woolridge said more than 600 letters of protest from residents will be sent to the Alcohol Control Board.

The deadline to submit letters of protest is Oct. 6. After that, it's up to city officials to decide whether or not the liquor license will be approved.

"We want businesses to come about in this community," Rutledge said. "We just want the right ones ... that's all."

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