Fancy Walgreens café in Chicago. (Photo courtesy Walgreens)

Come this Thursday, Walgreens will open its newest D.C. location at Seventh and H Streets NW in the heart of Chinatown. But as we wrote last week, this won’t just be any Walgreens—rather, it’s a three-story “experience” that will include everything from a juice and smoothie bar to expanded food options alongside the usual pharmacy fare. The part of the experience it might not have, though, is its liquor license.

Earlier this year the retailer applied to transfer its liquor license from its West End location to the new Chinatown store, where it wants to be able to sell beer and wine. But based on the timing of its application, the earliest it could get the license is March 28, a week after it plans on opening the store to the public.

As a means to bridge that gap—cause, you know, Walgreens without booze is a total downer—Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) today introduced emergency legislation allowing the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to issue a stipulated license that would carry through until the formal license is granted. (The local ANC has backed the new Walgreens’ request for a liquor license.) In short, it would allow Walgreens to get a liquor license early, and only to coincide with a grand opening.

After a spirited debate, the council went along with the bill, spare Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who voted against it. Cheh has been sparring with a Walgreens in Van Ness that has similarly sought a liquor license, and she has enmeshed herself in an ongoing debate over whether or not D.C. pharmacies should even be able to sell booze to begin with.

While some they say they should, opponents argue that they are unfairly exploiting an exception to an existing liquor license moratorium by presenting themselves as “full-service grocery stores.” The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration has drafted a new set of rules that would tighten up the definition of a grocery store for these purposes; either way, this new Walgreens “experience” might well sell enough food to qualify.