Southside liquor store dinged for underage sales

MONDAY, Aug. 31 — The doors are locked at a liquor store on Lansing’s south side where clerks repeatedly sold booze to teenage decoys from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

State records filed with the Lansing City Council show that Mikho’s Party Store, 5101 S. Pennsylvania Ave., had its liquor license temporarily suspended last week after clerks failed to properly check IDs and sold booze to three minors, all working undercover for the Liquor Control Commission, on at least three separate occasions over the last four years.

The incidents date back to 2017, when two teenagers, 17 and 18, bought booze without having their IDs checked. In 2019, a 20-year-old was also able to buy booze even after a clerk checked the youth’s ID, records show.

As a penalty, state officials suspended the store’s Specially Designated Distributor license, which allows it to sell beer, liquor and wine for offsite consumption, from Aug. 28 through Sept. 27. A large orange sign noting the suspension was hanging on the locked doors this evening.

Licensee Sarmad Mikho and his one remaining employee, Lee Kadhem, have since completed state training on alcohol sales and passed 10 subsequent inspections, records also showed. Still, three violations in two years warranted some type of state intervention, officials wrote.

“Revocation of the licenses is not necessary in this matter. However, the Commission further finds that a suspension of the license is required,” state officials wrote. “The Commission has extreme concerns as to the very young ages of the minors in these incidents.”

Mikho and Kadhem couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Records also indicate that the license is pending a final transfer to new ownership to L.M. C-Store, Inc. It’s unclear if the store will reopen, but barring further state action, its license is set to be returned on Sept. 28.