Citgo Gas Station Gets 10-Day Suspension

Citgo sign. Photo taken Oct. 31, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

A northside gas station and convenience store will close for more than a week as a result of a suspension handed down by the city.

The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to issue a 10-day suspension to Citgo, 4928 W. Villard Ave. The business will be closed from Dec. 9 through Dec. 18.

Licensee Rajmaninder Singh Sangha appeared with attorney Samantha Baker at an Oct. 17 licenses renewal hearing, during which committee members voiced concerns regarding the business’s 21-item police report and lack of hired security.

Baker told committee members that the business is actively seeking to hire security guards, but is having trouble finding reputable employees.

“Security is hard to find,” she said. Meanwhile, Singh Sangha is working to improve employee training. The business is also well-lit and outfitted with 32 security cameras, she said.

Baker also noted that the high number of calls is a result of Singh Sangha’s efforts to be forthcoming with police.

“These are the issues that plague a lot of these types of premises in the city of Milwaukee,” she said, noting that most of the incidents in the police report were cases of loitering and shoplifting.

“Unfortunately — or fortunately — for other applicants, I think some of these issues don’t come up on these reports because the premises don’t call the police.”

But Alderwoman Andrea Pratt didn’t see it that way. “Instead of coming up with an alternative strategy, you are using MPD as security,” she said.

The alderwoman asked Singh Sangha and Baker to elaborate on their plan to address the number of calls to police, to which they responded that the business is prioritizing employee training, as well as closing the store temporarily when incidents occur.

Singh Sangha is also attempting to file restraining orders that would keep problematic individuals away from the premises, Baker said.

“So there is no plan,” Pratt said.

Other committee members expressed frustration at Baker’s assertion that the surrounding neighborhood is to blame.

“The adage of ‘it’s just like that, the neighborhood is like that and we’re trying to get security but it’s hard,’ that’s just not good enough,” said Ald. Milele A. Coggs. “We’re all expecting more from you.”

“We all understand that you can’t control everything, but what’s the honest effort, on your part, to ensure for as much as you can that next year you’re not back here with 22 items on your report?”

Pratt moved for a 10-day suspension, and asked the business to amend its hours to close from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. “That would get rid of 10 of the calls that you made,” she said.

Singh Sangha agreed to the change. He filed written objections to the suspension ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of the full Common Council, but did not appear in-person to testify.

The business, located in the McGovern Park neighborhood, has been in operation since 2011. Singh Sangha owns the building, but does not operate the co-located restaurant, Kennedy Fried Chicken, which is owned by Manjinder Singh.

Jack’s Executive Bistro, located across the street from Citgo, served a 20-day suspension earlier this year after the Licenses Committee viewed a video of a ‘stripper party’ that took place inside the establishment. The bar and restaurant reopened at the end of July.