The Sioux Falls City Council made a decision Tuesday night on a liquor license for a controversial store in central Sioux Falls. By a 6 to 2 vote, councilors decided not to renew a liquor license for Walia Convenience Store. The store is located on East 10th Street in central Sioux Falls, close to two organizations that serve the city’s homeless: the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House and The Banquet. Walia had come under scrutiny for selling high-potency alcohol to vulnerable people.

Attorney Tyler Coverdale, who is representing Walia Convenience Store, says the store has changed what’s on its shelves.

“The store has also pulled from its shelves all canned alcoholic beverages with a concentration of six percent alcohol or greater,” Coverdale said.

The two “yes” votes to renew a package liquor license for the store came from councilors Christine Erickson and Marshall Selberg. Erickson brought up an option of revisiting the issue if problems arise.

“The option for this Council is to say, ‘You’re coming in, we see the violations,’ if there are violations, and the police informs us,” Erickson said. “We have that option to bring them back in.”

“I am really hesitant to shut down somebody’s livelihood, and but there have been issues here, and it’s been going on a while, so I’m kind of torn,” Selberg said. “But I do like this idea that maybe we do have them back in 60, 90 days.”

Among the majority of councilors who voted to not renew the liquor license were councilors Pat Starr and Greg Neitzert.

“It’s not just the location, because we have businesses around there where I’m not hearing any of these problems,” Neitzert said. “It’s the entire part of it, that this business, this location.”

“Tonight I have a problem in front of me that’s a very small symptom of an overall problem, but we’ve got to take action,” Starr said.