7 liquor stores' openings delayed

Delays have been encountered in construction of seven state-controlled liquor stores, but three new stores already are open for business and several should ring up sales by the holidays, state officials say.

The 10-store building project along the Wasatch Front and in southern Utah will add 40 percent more retail space for heavy beer, wine and distilled spirit sales.

"Many projects are behind schedule, but it has to do with getting through all the necessary steps before we can begin construction," said John Freeman, Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control deputy director. "These buildings must last for 50 years."

The Holladay store, scheduled to open this summer, is in the design stage and not expected to open until January. The state had purchased a 1-acre parcel two years ago. But after discussions with Holladay city officials, the state agreed to purchase an adjacent 50-foot wide parcel for additional landscaping and parking. "That took some time," Freeman said.

Two other opening dates have been pushed back to February -- in Bountiful and Springville. When the Bountiful store opens at 400 N. 500 West, the liquor outlet in the Costco parking lot will close. The new store had been scheduled to open this summer. A winter opening had been planned for the Springville store, which is east of Interstate 15, off Highway 75 at about 1600 North.

In Heber City, opening date for a new store at 262 Gateway Drive has been bumped

to at least the end of December. Crews are just starting excavation work, increasing officials' hopes that construction will be completed in time for the Sundance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 21-31.

Lean economic times brought down some construction costs, said Freeman. Bids were $3 million under budget for stores in Heber City, Cedar City and Hurricane, he said, adding "we're expecting other bids to also come in lower."

Completed projects include the State Wine Store at 1605 S. 300 West and a remodeled outlet at 1255 W. North Temple St. Both Salt Lake City stores opened in November. The remodeled Taylorsville store at 3905 W. 5400 South opened in January.

In addition to the $35 million store expansion, the liquor department also is remodeling its 10-story warehouse at 1625 S. 900 West in Salt Lake City.

Construction of the $19 mil- lion warehouse project is scheduled to begin next summer. The robotic section, which now handles 6,000 pallets of product, will be expanded to accommodate another 4,000 pallets. Also, the 120,000-square-foot general warehouse will be gutted and remodeled to streamline and automate operations.

"Growth has been so significant that it's difficult to service all our stores and package agencies right now," said Freeman. "When construction on our stores is completed, we'll have 45 retail outlets and 119 contract stores, all serviced from our central warehouse."

The expansion is fueled by brisk liquor sales in Utah's state-controlled monopoly. Last fiscal year, total retail liquor sales topped $257 million, up $27 million from the year before.

Those liquor sales brought $98 million to state and local treasuries last fiscal year, said department spokeswoman Sharon Mackay. Of that total, more than $25 million was used to fund school lunch programs while $60 million went into the state's general fund.

dawn@sltrib.com