Bethel received two liquor licenses last month. But the town’s almost half-century ban on legal sales hasn’t entirely broken yet. The two entities who obtained the licenses—Alaska Commercial Company and Bethel Native Corporation—still need to set up their stores. AC Quickstop is beginning that process this week.
Walter Pickett is the Alaska Commercial Company general manager. He says the final vision for AC Quickstop’s liquor store in Bethel is ready.
“When you walk into the convenience store currently, the thought is to take that space where the entryway is and that elongated hallway before you walk into the store, and actually take that space and convert that into the liquor store,” Pickett said.
The store should open in August of 2016, and Pickett said the company has several hurdles to jump between now and then, beginning this week with sending a project manager to assess the store’s new construction.
AC has budgeted over a million dollars to completely renovate the Quickstop. Plans include shrinking the convenience section, expanding the laundry facilities, adding alcohol storage, and creating a new entryway.
Pickett said the liquor store will occupy the area where the cash register and front hallway currently sits and will use what is now the shop’s front door as its entrance.
“It will be a separate entry,” Picket said. “It will have its own point of sale. It will have its own staff, that are obviously all over 21, fully trained. So it’s really going to be a separate business within the building.”
Pickett said the company is considering opening a temporary liquor store in March as a placeholder until the renovation finishes. The store would set up in the Quickstop’s storage area until transitioning to its permanent location.
AC holds seven liquor licenses across the state, and Pickett said the company understands the role of alcohol in rural Alaska.
“We have stores in Nome. We have a liquor store in McGrath, Alaska. We have a store in King Salmon. So we understand the sensitivity in the community,” Pickett said, “and we’re doing everything within our power to make sure we’re socially responsible— working with the people of Bethel, working with the city, working with the police force— and making sure our staff are fully educated in proper alcohol sales.”
BNC didn’t respond to interview requests about plans for their liquor license.
Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
