A proposal to turn the building that until last year housed the Vineyard’s only nightclub, Outerland, into a delicatessen and seasonal package store will go before the Edgartown zoning board of appeals April 8.

Alexis Garcia, who submitted the proposal last month, and who with her husband, Paul, owns Garcia’s in the former Back Alley’s store in West Tisbury, would not comment yesterday on the potential purchase of the premises at the airport in Edgartown.

And current Outerland owner Barry Rosenthal said the property is still on the market and being shown.

But the proposal, submitted Feb. 10 by Alexis Garcia, representing Island Package Store LLC, briefly summarizes a plan to convert the club and live performance venue into a retail outlet servicing the up-Island community.

“We are interested in purchasing the old Hot Tin Roof property (aka Outerland) and converting it to a year-round general store including delicatessen and grocery items. We will want to change the existing liquor license to an off-premises package store.”

In the letter Mrs. Garcia argues that a store on the property, which is close to the border of West Tisbury off the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road, would provide a useful service to the up-Island community and rid the neighborhood of nightclub traffic.

“Not only . . . ending the late-night consumption that takes place there but also to provide the nearby residents a location that will provide them essential items without having to drive down-Island,” the letter reads.

The proposal concludes by stating that an extensive business plan and more comprehensive narrative will be forthcoming shortly.

The building was constructed in 1979 and was home to the Island’s best-known club, the Hot Tin Roof, which was part-owned by musician Carly Simon and attracted international acts.

Mr. Rosenthal and Mona Rosenthal bought the Hot Tin Roof in 2005, paying $910,000 for the building and nightclub business. The couple changed the name to Outerland and opened the following year. But after three years of operating as a seasonal business, Outerland closed last fall.

The property and nightclub business is on the market for $845,000, marked down from $1.2 million.

Meanwhile there is some evidence that, of all the ventures to start in the midst of a recession, a package store might be a relatively safe bet.

Richard Garcia, general manager of Jim’s Package Store in Oak Bluffs, said business is up on the pre-crisis 2008 winter season, if only marginally.

“We’re slightly ahead of last year’s pay,” he said. “In these crappy days, people want booze.”

While high-end retail and restaurants may be in crisis, the business of selling no-frills beer and wine holds steady.

“We didn’t sell a bottle of Dom Perignon this Christmas, which we usually sell, but we’re selling sparkling wines. The high-end beers are suffering — European beers and micro-brewery beers — but Bud and Miller are doing fine. People might be a little more frugal, but they’re not going to stop buying beer.”