Private liquor sales begin in county stores

Bottles of liquor appeared on the new row of shelving at Rosauers in Colfax Friday morning, the first booze sold by a private vendor since before prohibition.

Store manager Shawn McAdams said his store had “very steady sales” in the first weekend of privatized liquor since voters approved Initiative 1183 last November.

“So far the biggest concern is the extra tax that gets added on,” said McAdams.

Many customers who got a bottle of spirits from the store’s secured shelves griped about the sticker shock they felt when the bottle rang up 24 percent higher than the list price.

For the most part, he said, customers have been happy about the convenience of getting liquor at expanded hours. State rules allow stores to sell liquor between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. seven days a week. Bottles are secured with locking anti-theft caps.

State alcohol taxes have been the biggest price difference between the state-run stores and private sellers.

While the shelf price at state stores was what rang up at the register, the shelf price at private stores like Rosauers does not include a 20.5 percent tax and a $3.77 liter tax.

That liter tax was reported to McAdams by customers as the biggest difference between the price state stores and the new privatized price.

Ken Johnson, who sells liquor out of his auto body shop in St. John, suspected the taxes were left off the private price tag with a purpose in mind.

“They’re doing that to make a point about the high taxes,” said Johnson.

Johnson ran the liquor sales as a contractor with the state before privatization and decided he would continue as a private vendor.

Johnson decided to include the taxes in his shelf pricing.

“Everybody that shops here wanted it that way,” he said.

For small shops like Johnson’s the change required a serious shift in what he stocks. To get a profitable discount, he would have to buy 200 cases of liquor. That means he may have trouble pricing popular varieties competitively with the supermarkets.

‘They’ve got buying power that I’ll just never be able to match,” he said.

Johnson surveyed supermarkets for price comparisons after the switch. He said while prices on most of his varieties are lower, the supermarkets had lower prices on popular brands, primarily Canadian blend whiskeys.

“They’ve gotta be selling them at damn near cost,” he said.

McAdams said the Candian whiskeys were the most popular over Rosauers’ opening weekend, even causing problems in keeping them in stock.

“But it’s all new for the suppliers, too,” he said. “We’ll get it all figured out.”

In addition to Rosauers, Safeway, Rite Aid and Sunset Mart have permission to sell liquor in Whitman County. Dissmore’s IGA in Pullman has an application to the state liquor control board pending.