Builders will earn a $30,000 bonus if the construction is completed by Nov. 1, said liquor-control director Dennis Kellen on Friday.

Penalties will apply if Jacobsen Construction Co., headquartered in nearby Hurricane, falls behind on an agreed-upon completion date of Dec. 16.

In May, the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission approved a 1.18-acre site at about 150 N. 900 East, after three years of wrangling about a location. The planned 10,000-square-foot store is more than twice the size of the only liquor outlet, located at the Phoenix Plaza strip mall on the far side of town.

That store rang up $5.8 million in sales last fiscal year, generating $315,600 in sales taxes and another $604,000 in taxes that help subsidize school lunches.

"Sales slow down in the summertime when it's hot," said Diana McCann, manager of the St. George outlet. "But by the fall and the holidays, hopefully the new store will be open."

For those not wanting to wait in the long lines in St. George, there's a state liquor store in Cedar City, about 55 miles to the north. Or 35 miles across the Nevada border in Mesquite, there's Lee's Discount Liquor, a 12,000-square-foot warehouse.

Bootleggers, however, face a Class B misdemeanor charge for bringing liquor into Utah, with penalties of up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000 and confiscation of the liquor.

In Utah, liquor, wine and beer with an alcohol content over 3.2 percent by weight can only be purchased in state liquor stores.

Utah law says the number of liquor stores cannot exceed one per 48,000 people.