C-store Owner Helps Make Park Cleaner and Sober

CHICO, Calif. -- Vikramjit Gill has sacrificed some business in an effort to reduce litter in a nearby park. The owner of a 7-Eleven store here has stopped selling single-serve liquor products on a trial basis for the past four months.

Gill made the move upon the suggestion of the Chico Police Target team, who concluded that single-serve liquor products often litter Lost Park. Public intoxication, public urination and aggressive panhandling are also big problems in the park.

The Target team formed a direct correlation between the availability of high-alcohol, single-serve malt beverages and problems in the park. In a press release, the police team cited a study that showed single-serve containers are favored by "serial inebriates and young people looking for the quickest, cheapest route to intoxication."

Gill said eliminating sales of single-store liquor has reduced alcohol sales at his store, but the trial policy has benefits. "I think we're seeing a better quality of customer," he told the Oroville Mercury Register.