Wilmington City Council passed a temporary moratorium on smoke shops about a month and a half ago. Last week, Council put the same restrictions on new convenience stores in the city.
The ordinance sponsor, Councilmember Shané Darby, said Wilmington is oversaturated with corner stores, which the ordinance defined as businesses who sell goods consumed outside of the store’s premises.
“We also know that residents complain a lot about groups of gatherings that happen outside of a lot of our corner stores in regards to illegal activities and violence that happen,” Darby said. “A lot of women, elders and young people don't feel comfortable entering a lot of the corner stores that we have.”
Councilmembers passed the ordinance 11-0 with two absent last week.
Corner stores are largely found in low-income neighborhoods, according to a 2025 study. They are accessible and affordable to community members but often do not prioritize nutritious options.
Most of these stores primarily sell processed food, alcohol, tobacco and lottery products. Darby adds the excess of corner stores provides little access to healthy food options for the community.
Darby said Wilmington residents should have more options for food.
“I think that our focus as a Council should be looking at these corner convenience stores, these corner stores, looking at these properties, and saying, ‘how do we create healthy food options, grocery stores, cafes?’” Darby asked. “And I want to be able to go throughout my district and have a cafe. The people who live on 23rd and Jessup deserve a cafe, just like the people at the Riverfront in downtown.”
Darby said she’s tired of the smoke shops, corner stores and liquor stores lining the streets.
And limited access to supermarkets leave residents disadvantaged, according to a 2015 study. “[T]hey pay more for their food and it is often of lower quality. For example, Hendrickson and colleagues found that neighborhood poverty rates were associated with higher food prices and lower food quality. They also found a smaller quantity and variety of foods offered at stores in impoverished areas.”
Councilmember Michelle Harlee said she’s glad Council is taking this step.
“I don't know whether or not this is happening at the other people's districts, but I've had multitudes of people trying to open up stores, and I've been at lots of zoning board meetings fighting to keep convenience stores closed, or stores turning into convenience stores because once they open, then you really cannot control what type of retail that they're doing,” Harlee said.
Harlee added the ordinance buys the city time to figure out the best next steps.
The equity impact assessment will show what areas are oversaturated with corner stores, detail public health implications and seek community input on alternative retail operations.
The assessment will cost an estimated $250 thousand, according to Darby. She added she’s concerned fiscal impact notes – which are required for all legislation in Wilmington – are used as a weapon by city staff to discourage Councilmembers passing new legislation.
The aforementioned 2015 study found corner stores often act as valuable community spaces whose services to the community can be expanded by collaborating with health units and local government.
Partnerships can help expand corner store supply by enabling the sale of high-quality produce at affordable rates.
The corner store moratorium will last one year unless Council rescinds it sooner. In the meantime, elected officials and city staff will put an equity impact assessment together to better inform next steps.
