A street view of the Texaco Super Deli on Oporto-Madrid Blvd.

By Cody Owens

On January 16, 2018, the Public Safety Committee (PSC) will be holding a show cause hearing for the Texaco Super Deli located on Oporto-Madrid Blvd., a gas station where a man was shot and killed in November.

Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams, who chairs the PSC, set the date after hearing complaints brought by residents and briefly discussing the proper course of action with members of the law department. While a show cause hearing is the initial step toward revoking a business license, the owner has the right to due process and will be invited to share their story and evidence to support their argument for keeping the license.

Those who have called for the city to revoke the business license will also be allowed to present testimonies, as well as supporting documents. This is not the first time Texaco Super Deli has drawn public outcry, nor is it the first time the city has held a hearing about possibly revoking the license following a violent incident.

Interior photo by Gerald Walling

Background

In 2007, a woman filed assault charges against the owner, Ty Nguyen, alleging that he “brutally beat” her and “possessed and displayed a firearm in such a manner that [she] had a reasonable apprehension for her personal safety and existence,” according to the lawsuit that was filed.

Nguyen plead not guilty to the criminal charges and was later acquitted; the civil charges were moved to the federal courts where the case was eventually settled by both parties. Shortly after the initial charges were filed, the Birmingham City Council voted unanimously to revoke the Nguyen’s business and liquor license on Sept. 13, 2007. The business was officially closed on Sept. 28, 2007.

After the business license was revoked by the Birmingham City Council (and a subsequent appeal was denied by Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Vance), Nguyen sold the business to Giau Le, who reopened the store in 2008. In his ruling, Vance said the revocation was “not the result of any arbitrary or capricious rush to judgment…After weighing all the equities, the court must find that the public safety overrides Super Deli’s business interests.”

In an interview with AL.com, Nguyen said after the ruling, “My lawyer talked to me and said we lose, so this morning I lock the doors and go.”

At the time of the first violent incident, protests were held outside the Texaco Super Deli, organized by Gwendolyn Cook-Webb, who has continued to call for the business to be closed. “We picketed that place for 90 hot days,” Cook-Webb told the PSC members on Tuesday, referring to the incident that occurred in 2007. Now that a man has been killed in the store, she said, there is even more reason for the city to “close it down and open a church there.”

Four years after selling the business to Le, ownership changed again in 2012 when East Lake Supertter Inc. was incorporated by Hoang Nguyen, a relative of the original business owner, according to records with the Alabama Secretary of State.

East Lake Supertter Inc. filing with Alabama Secretary of State

On July 29, 2014 the Council approved a transfer of an “Off Premise Beer and Wine License” for East Lake Supertter Inc. with Hoang Nguyen listed as the contact person for the business. The item was marked a public hearing and placed on the consent agenda. No one from the audience spoke to the item before it was passed unanimously.

Two years later, on August 9, 2016, the Council approved another transfer of an “Off Premise Beer and Wine License” for East Lake Supertter Inc., though the business has remained incorporated by Hoang Nguyen since 2012. That item was also marked a public hearing and was passed, without discussion, on the consent agenda.

According to those who spoke at Tuesday’s PSC meeting, Ty Nguyen has continued to be involved with the business. On the afternoon of Nov. 3, 2017 a fatal shooting occurred in the gas station after a verbal altercation escalated. The security camera footage, which was published by WVTM 13 News, shows a man arguing with the cashier. The man can be heard saying, “I’ll kill you,” before being doused with pepper spray by the clerk.

A video provided by the business owners and published by WVTM 13 shows the scene leading up to deadly shooting on Nov. 3, 2017

The man stumbles backward, reaches into his waistband and pulls out a pistol. The clerk then can be seen firing a gun from behind the counter as the man appears to be hit and runs out the door. He was later found dead in the nearby street.

Protestors gathered, much like in 2007, and called for the business to be closed following the shooting — a chorus that has not subsided in the weeks since.

What’s Next?

A letter will be sent to the business owner informing them of the show cause hearing that has been set for Jan. 16, 2018. The PSC will hear arguments from all interested parties and then make the decision whether or not to recommend the item to the full council, which will then hold its own public hearing. The council will then vote on the item that would potentially revoke the business license, if there is enough evidence presented in order to do so. It should be noted, a show cause hearing does not mean the revocation of a business license is eminent.