October 10, 2024

By Natalie Petrovich

The Austin City Council is currently weighing whether to allow two local businesses, Torchy’s Tacos and Wheatsville Co-op, the ability to legally sell alcoholic beverages closer to school properties than the existing laws permit.

The council’s agenda items are considering giving the two establishments exceptions to the city’s “Minimum Distances Rule”, which bars sales of alcohol within 300 feet of schools, daycares, churches, and hospitals, according to KVUE.

Despite Torchy’s Tacos attempting to carefully navigate community concerns by proposing “a restriction of no alcohol sales when school is in session plus an additional buffer to consider after-school activities,” as noted in a statement obtained by CBS Austin. Austin ISD has opposed the waiver requests for both Torchy’s and Wheatsville Co-op.

In opposition to the waivers, the organization Texans for Safe and Free Drug Youth has not only raised concerns but also garnered the support of several current and former district trustees. As reported by KVUE, they have shared statistics from a 2022 Texas Health and Human Services survey, which notes that over 40% of middle and high school students in Texas have tried alcohol at least once and that a significant portion find it easy to access. Furthermore, the sobering fact that more than 400 Texans under the age of 21 died from alcohol use in 2022.