Liquor Questions Linger

WAITSBURG - With the passing of Initiative 1183 that takes government out of liquor sales, the future of Touchet Valley liquor stores is uncertain.

"At the state level, I don't think they thought it would pass," said Karen Hoyle, the manager of the liquor store in Dayton. "Everybody's got to scramble."

The Washington State Liquor Control Board is trying to answer questions as best as it can, but there are not many concrete answers out there at this time, said Brian Smith, the communications director for the board. The board has put up fact sheets on its web site for interested citizens and right now the board knows that jobs will be lost and that it needs to create a smooth transition out of the liquor business.

About 900 Liquor Control Board employees will lose their jobs as the initiative's timeline is carried out. First, the board is maximizing revenue responsibly through the holidays.

In January, it will focus on removing itself from the business aspect and by June 1, 2012, all liquor business operations, including purchasing, distribution and retail, will transition to private businesses.

In rural areas, including Dayton and Waitsburg, the current stores are not run by State Liquor Board Employees, but by contracted employees.

Hoyle said her store was commissioned for the state. She has no benefits and is totally independent now. The state is in charge of transporting the liquor and owns all of it, and tells Hoyle what hours to keep, what reports to present and how much money should be in her till.

But, with the passage of the initiative, the difference will be huge for her come June 1, in some ways she can only guess at.

"It's all a guessing game," she said.

The board is holding a series of meetings this month for contract employees and board employees to hash out some more details. The only meeting to be held on the East side of the Cascades will be in Moses Lake on Nov. 22, and Hoyle said most of the liquor store managers in this area plan to attend.

"None of this is going to be easy," she said.

To keep the local stores open, Smith said the manager would need to purchase their inventory and apply for a license. He's hoping managers can apply and obtain licenses before June so the stores can stay open.

"We should have licenses available to that so people can apply and go," Smith said.

For grocery stores to carry liquor, they need to have at least 10,000 square feet, such as the size of a Safeway or Albertsons, he said.

If there are no stores large enough to sell liquors, contracted liquor stores with a license can sell it.

Larger areas, including Walla Walla, will have liquor licenses auctioned off. The date of the auction is to be determined.

Dayton Mercantile, the town's largest grocery store, may be big enough to carry liquor, but no one from the store returned calls from the Times by press time.

Because Columbia County is so small, it may only be eligible for one license, Hoyle said. If no existing grocery store or previously contracted store wanted the license, it could be given out to another interested person with commercial property, Smith said.

Bonnie Olsen, the manager of the Waitsburg Liquor Store for 30 years, said she didn't think about what she would do if the initiative passed. Now that it has she's unsure of whether she's going to keep her store open.

"I haven't thought about it," she said.

Because the grocery store in town isn't large enough to carry liquor, she said that adds to her decision. But, her customers are speaking out.

"They feel bad for me," Olsen said. "I've been here 30 years."

Hoyle said she plans to apply for a liquor license, purchase all of her inventory and stay open on Main Street, as she has been for the past 17 years.

She said her customers want her to stay open to keep liquor under her watchful eye, rather than on a grocery store shelf.

"I have better control over who is buying what," Hoyle said .

Hoyle has been planning for this day since an initiative to privatize liquor was on the ballot last year, she said.

She plans to purchase the majority of her product, but she would not disclose how much that would cost her.

"I have an idea," she said.

She is planning on being able to execute her plan through a small business loan or other means. And if only one liquor license is provided to Columbia County, she hopes the board believes she is the best candidate because she has already gone through the background checks and has the store.

But, she still has plenty of questions that need to be answered before she can carry out her plan, including who will she buy the liquor from? How will it be distributed?

She is attending the Nov. 22 meeting to hopefully learn the answers.

Hoyle said she feels bad for the state employees who will lose their jobs, but she's happy for the opportunity to have her own private business.

" There's just a huge amount of responsibility for selling liquor," she said. "I do know my people and from what they're telling me, they prefer me to stay."