Despite solid sales, plentiful profits and a petition signed by 3,000 loyal customers, last call is just eight days away at the state liquor store at 1457 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City. The store is being closed by the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to save $210,000 in annual operating costs and comply with budget cuts of $653,000 ordered by the short-sighted Legislature. It's no way to treat one of the geese that lays the golden eggs.

But Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, who has been working with the DABC to save the store, isn't going to allow the popular liquor outlet to close without a fight.

Department officials have already identified $100,000 in alternate budget cuts to offset nearly half of what is being termed as "savings" from closing the store. McAdams will ask lawmakers for a special appropriation to cover the balance, which could be a tough sale considering the Legislature's intolerance toward alcohol.

But first, McAdams must convince the DABC operating board to issue a reprieve for the store at its monthly meeting Tuesday. Liquor commissioners should honor the request of the senator, and the wishes of the petition signers, by delaying the closing while McAdams works on the store's behalf.

It doesn't seem like a sound business decision to close the store, which earned a $1.2 million profit on sales of $3.1 million last year. But there's no way to say if the closing will result in a net loss or a gain for the state because the state liquor system is a monopoly, and the DABC will recover at least a portion of lost sales as customers migrate to other state-owned stores.

However, this misguided closing will certainly inconvenience customers, particularly those who don't own cars and may be forced to hike or bike an extra half a mile to the next outlet, a state wine store. DABC officials have described the Main Street store as a community asset.

The Legislature needs to adopt a similar stance. Instead of trying to limit access to legal libations on moral grounds, lawmakers should provide better service to customers, and operate the liquor store system like the business that it is.

Budget cuts shouldn't be an issue for an agency that pours millions of dollars into the state treasury. In 2009, on record sales approaching $270 million, the DABC generated a $59 million profit and $14 million in sales taxes while feeding $27 million into the state school lunch program. A good business plan would call for plowing the profits back into the enterprise and investing in new stores instead of closing a profitable one.