State Representative Tammy Phelps have successfully passed legislation to ban NEW stores selling beer, wine and liquor in her House District 3. The ban is from August 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026.
The ban applies to the issuance of NEW state and city licenses for the sale of beer, wine and liquor for off-premises consumption. Thus, it does not apply to new restaurants and bars.
The ban does NOT apply to stores larger than 5,000 square feet.
To get an idea of this size, Cuban Liquor on Pierremont has approximately 5,000 square feet. Bernie Wood's store on Lakeshore has approximately 2800 square feet.
Phelps’ district is bounded on the north by Midway and I-49 and to Line Avenue on the south. The district runs to Williamson Way and the western boundary is Mansfield Road. It is a majority African American district.
This ban will NOT apply to new grocery stores in Phelps’ district or NEW large retailers like Total Wine, Walmart or Sam's Club. But it will apply to a NEW Circle K or similar convenience stores as well as NEW gas stations with 5,000 or less square feet.
This legislation bypasses the limitations on the sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption in Shreveport's Unified Development Code (UDC).
African American officials have complained for quite some time about the sale of alcohol in primarily minority neighborhoods. Phelps’ legislation is an obvious answer to these complaints in her House district. However, it does not prevent the construction of a large alcohol retailer, i.e. with a location with 5,001 or larger square feet, in her district.