By dawn house

| The Salt Lake Tribune

State regulators have closed the liquor outlet in Duchesne for unpaid bills, forcing imbibers to travel to the next closest store — in Roosevelt, 30 miles away.

The store is the third liquor outlet to be closed because of outstanding debts to the state.

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At a glance

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Duchesne liquor outlet

The store at 151 E. Main St. was closed Jan. 3 for unpaid bills.

Now what » Liquor commissioners are advertising for a new contractor.

When » A new store in Duchesne may not open until March.

Where » A new location has not been determined.

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On Thursday, liquor-control commissioners approved finding a new contractor to operate the Duchesne store, but it is not expected to reopen until sometime in March.

The outlet is among 100 state package agencies, which are different from larger state-owned stores in that they are privately run operations in small towns and resorts.

Benn Buys, finance director for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC), said the Duchesne package agency had fallen behind in payments to the state for liquor by about $118,000. The DABC collected $36,000 from the owners and recouped another $79,000 in remaining liquor inventory. The exact amount still owed to the state has yet to be determined.

In May, commissioners voted to close the Gunnison package agency, whose operator fell behind in payments by $6,000, forcing customers to drive 15 miles away to Salina or 20 miles to Ephraim to purchase alcohol. The Gunnison outlet was shuttered for two months before the DABC found another private contractor to run the store.

The Gunnison closure came weeks after legislative auditors blasted the DABC for its handling of a bankrupt package agency in the Ogden Valley town of Eden, whose operator left $300,000 in outstanding debts to the state.

Auditors faulted the DABC for continuing to ship liquor to the outlet for several months, despite the store’s mounting bills, and for increasing compensation retroactively to reduce the store’s debt. The outlet closed in July 2010 and has not reopened.

Last year, the DABC also closed outlets in Spanish Fork and Springville after opening larger state-run stores in Utah County.

dawn@sltrib.com Twitter@DawnHouseTrib