1:11pm | Councilman Dee Andrews is inviting the community to celebrate the demolition of two blighted liquor stores this weekend.

The two liquor stores, Sim’s, 552 E. Willow St., and Whistler Liquor, 941 Pacific Coast Highway, have been out of business for some time. Both were known public nuisances due to the amount of crime that occurred on their premises. 

 More than 1,600 calls for police service and graffiti removal were made regarding these two properties during the five-year span between 2004 and 2009, Andrews said.

Sim’s is scheduled to be demolished at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 23, with Whistler Liquor to follow at noon.

“Both of these locations have been a cancer in the city of Long Beach,” Andrews said in a statement. “When I came into office, my first priority was to clean up this area, and with the help of RDA it is finally happening.” 

The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency has purchased the properties in order to facilitate future development at each location.

The Sim’s location is adjacent to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, and commercial development that complements the hospital is being sought. The RDA is already in discussions with Wilmac Enterprises Inc. for a new retail and commercial development at the Whistler Liquor site, according to information provided by Andrews’ Sixth District office.

“Tearing down these two crime hot spots goes a long way toward building up our community,” Mayor Bob Foster said in a statement.

Willie McGinnis, a professional football player and owner of Wilmac Enterprises, grew up down the street from Whistler Liquor.

“I have seen the crime that it (the former Whistler Liquor store) attracts, and I look forward to bringing a new vibrant development to the area”, McGinnis said in a statement.  

Central Long Beach activists are also pleased at the impending demolition of the two neighborhood eyesores. 

“We are so pleased that the Redevelopment Agency continues to fulfill their mission of enhancing the quality of life in Long Beach by improving blighted areas,” said Annie Greenfeld-Wisner, chair of the Central Project Area Committee, in a statement. “These improvements, along with other recent redevelopment activity in the area, show their [sic] commitment to making our neighborhoods safer, better places to live.”