It said the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association should address this type of issue, because it is relevant to the Lincoln Avenue business district.

At issue at both the March 2 community meeting and the March 9 neighborhood association meeting was whether the addition of the large beverage business downtown would mean Lincoln Avenue would become saturated with wine and alcohol stores.

"The business and professional association has not taken a position on the issue yet because we didn't have enough information," said executive director Norma Ruiz.

However, Ruiz said, the board's executive committee is planning to look at all the information and decide how to address the issue. According to neighborhood association president Ed Rast, emails exchanged on the community elist concerning the approval of a Beverages & More were split 50-50. He noted San Jose city planner Carol Hamilton also received emails and letters that were equally divided.

Resident Stacy Scott told association members some neighbors looked over the store plans at the March 2 meeting and noted the majority of the building would be dedicated to alcohol and not the "More" part.

"This is not a mini-version of the larger stores," Scott said.

Scott said only a fraction of the space was dedicated to grocery items.

Taking this into consideration, board member Harvey Darnell said in the long run, there should be a discussion about the concentration of alcohol licenses in the area. Darnell also questioned how the business community will perceive the downtown over time.

"Willow Glen is exceedingly difficult to work with," Darnell said. "The neighbors always have something to object about, whether it's a chain store, the traffic it will cause or the parking issues."

The center of business is moving away from Willow Glen, he said.

"We need to be very careful," he added. "If this gets opposed, it will look bad for Willow Glen."

San Jose Unified School District board member and Willow Glen resident Pam Foley said a large store like Beverages & More would actually bring in foot traffic to Lincoln Avenue.

"It will generate more revenue for the smaller stores in downtown," Foley said. "Willow Glen ought not be afraid of what's coming into our neighborhood."