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State regulators are threatening to strip E-Z Stop Deli, the liquor outlet nearest to Berkeley High, of its alcohol license after police cited it for selling beer to minors for the third time since last March. 

“Three strikes is not very common. We take it very seriously,” said State Alcohol Beverage Control District Administrator Andrew Gomez.  

Rather than stripping the shop of its alcohol license, Gomez is negotiating with E-Z Stop, at 2233 Shattuck Ave., about transferring the business to a new owner at the site, he said. If negotiations break down, an administrative hearing would be scheduled that could result in the shop losing its liquor license.  

State law calls for shops to lose their alcohol licenses after three verified violations within three years. Gomez said he was negotiating with E-Z Stop over transferring the license, “as an option to settle the case as soon as possible.” 

Losing its liquor license would be a severe blow to E-Z Stop, said its owner Ali Erakat. 

“It’s a very big part of the business,” he said. 

Erakat said he couldn’t comment further on the investigation, but added that he had fired the two clerks caught selling alcohol to the decoys. E-Z Stop is continuing to sell alcohol while negotiations proceed. 

ABC is also seeking to revoke the license of Berkeley Market, at 2369 Telegraph Ave., Gomez said. The convenience store has also been cited three times for selling to minors. A hearing for Berkeley Market has been set for August, Gomez said. 

Just last year, E-Z Stop was praised as a model of self policing by neighborhood leaders who successfully fought to keep a newly arriving Longs Drugs from selling beer and wine. 

School Board Director John Selawsky, a leader in the fight against Longs, continued to defend the convenience store. He said E-Z Stop had met previous district demands that it not sell alcohol during the school lunch period or between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. when students are leaving the high school. 

“I think they have been very accommodating with us. I don’t see them as a liability,” Selawsky said. “My concern with Longs was that it was not a family owned business and would not have the proper controls.” 

E-Z Stop has failed every test authorities presented over the past 15 months. On March 19, 2004, a clerk sold beer to a 17-year-old decoy who did not present identification, Gomez said. On March 2, 2005, the same clerk sold beer to a 19-year-old who offered a driver’s license identifying him as a minor. On Sept. 27, 2004 a different clerk sold beer to an 18-year-old decoy without asking for identification. 

The Berkeley Police Department executed the stings through a $50,000 state grant. The decoys, Gomez said, typically come from local colleges or students involved in anti-alcohol groups. 

Recent police operations have apparently resulted in liquor stores cleaning up their act. During the sting this March, E-Z Stop was the only store out of six that sold to minors, Gomez said. 

A police sweep on March 19, 2004 found six of the 15 targeted stores willing to sell to minors, Gomez said. The usual violation rate on decoy operations is about 10 percent, he said.