State officials approved 59 permits to sell beer and wine Wednesday in three counties that have been dry since the 1940s - Benton, Madison and Sharp.
Some of the businesses could begin selling beer and wine today. Voters approved alcohol sales in each of the counties in the Nov. 6 general election.
Almost all of the permits that the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved Wednesday - 56 - were for Benton County.
The Benton County permits included 40 for the retail sale of beer and wine, 13 for the retail sale of beer only and three permits to sell beer and wine at restaurants, said Judy Chwalinski, assistant to Michael Langley, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division. The permits for stores were issued Thursday to recipients who attended the board meeting in Little Rock; other permits will be put in the mail.
Three approved permit holders must meet certain conditions, such as the removal of gaming machines, before the permits will be issued, Chwalinski said.
The three restaurant permits will be issued today, she said.
Gary Finnegan received Benton County’s first permit to sell beer and wine in Benton County since 1946. He said that adding beer and wine will immediately increase total sales at his Finnegan’s Country Market by 20 percent.
“When the summer gets here and the tourists get back, it’ll be close to 40 percent,” he said.
The store, is on Arkansas 12 near Beaver Lake. Finnegan said when people stop to buy beer, they’ll also purchase other items.
Finnegan said he’s spending $5,000 to add two refrigerated coolers to his store to accommodate beer and wine. The coolers won’t arrive until next week.
Finnegan said he was invited to Little Rock for a ceremony to receive his permit, but he decided that was too far to drive on Wednesday and he can wait until he receives his permit in the mail. He can’t accept a shipment of beer or wine until the permit is hanging on the wall of his store.
Finnegan found himself popular with area media on Wednesday. Two television stations had been out Wednesday morning and another was expected in the afternoon.
“It’s good for the store,” he said. “You can’t getenough positive press in this day and age.”
E-Z Mart, the convenience-store chain based in Texarkana, Texas, received the most permits Wednesday - 15 for the retail sale of beer and small-farm wine
“E-Z Mart is very excited to add beer to the mix of convenience products we offer our customers,” Sonja Hubbard, chief executive officer of E-Z Mart said in an e-mail.
The chain hopes to have beer and wine in all of its Benton County stores by Friday, she wrote.
Two other retail chains were among the top permit recipients. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville received nine permits, and Kum & Go of West Des Moines, Iowa, got eight.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board considers permits on a monthly basis.January was the first month permits could be granted for the newly “wet” counties in Arkansas.
Besides the Benton County permits, two stores in Sharp County received permits to sell beer and wine - a Wal-Mart in Ash Flat and Rebel Station in Hardy.
A Wal-Mart store in Huntsville was the only business to receive a permit in Madison County.
Langley said a few applicants were rejected, primarily because they hadn’t completed the necessary paperwork or didn’t follow notif ication procedures under Arkansas Code Annotated 3-5-305, which requires the notice of application be posted on the premises 30 days before granting of a permit, among other things.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control division can give anunlimited number of permits to sell beer and smallfarm wine, said Langley. Wine from large distributors can only be sold in liquor stores in Arkansas.
Liquor-store permits are harder to get than beer and small-farm wine permits. Only one liquor-store permit is allowed for every 4,000 residents of a county. That means Benton County can receive 55 liquor-store permits, Sharp County can have four, and Madison County can get three.
Benton County had a population of 221,339 in 2010, compared with 17,264 in Sharp County and 15,717 in Madison County.
Liquor-store permits won’t be considered until March, said Chwalinski.
The applicant information is posted weekly at dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/ abc/Pages/weeklyReports. aspx.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/17/2013