Abc Store
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Catawba County will take over operation of Taylorsville's single ABC store in a few weeks if a state commission gives its approval.
Abc Store
Modified: Thursday, Feb. 02, 2012 Catawba County will take over operation of Taylorsville's single ABC store in a few weeks if a state commission gives its approval.
The expected OK would make official what's been happening for months. Catawba County has run the Taylorsville, Alexander County, liquor store since last summer, when the store manager was terminated.
Under Catawba's supervision, the Taylorsville store is now offering a greater variety of liquors and has seen sales increase, said Ray Abernathy, general manager of Catawba's nine stores. Taylorsville has gone from receiving one delivery of liquor a month to eight partial deliveries.
The state Alcohol Beverage Control Commission thinks the proposed merger "is positive" and probably will result in a more efficient operation and benefit the two communities, said Agnes Stevens, public affairs director for the state commission.
The ABC Commission has new authority from the state legislature to improve local boards' efficiency and force mergers if necessary. The Taylorsville/Catawba merger, however, was voluntary.
Taylorsville asked Catawba County for help in operating its store last summer, Abernathy said. After a few months, the small town suggested the two operations merge under Catawba's control.
The merger has been approved by the Taylorsville town council and the Catawba Board of County Commissioners. It must get final approval from the ABC Commission in Raleigh, probably at its March meeting.
Taylorsville will pay Catawba County half of 1 percent of the store's annual gross sales, or $4,500, to oversee the operation of the store, the only ABC store in Alexander County, located at 42 N.C. 16 S., Taylorsville. The merger will save $12,000 in auditing and accounting costs, Abernathy said.
He credited the Taylorsville town council with giving up control of the store that it authorized in 1965. "It is hard to turn loose of something like that," he said. "They had their town's best interest at heart.
The Taylorsville store's profit was 3.14 percent last year on sales of $907,000, with $23,000 of that going to local governments. Catawba County had a 4.16 percent profit on gross sales of $14 million, with $800,000 going to local governments.
North Carolina has 165 local ABC boards that own or lease a combined 421 ABC retail stores, as well as hire and manage their staffs. Their profits go to the state general fund and local governments, as well as to alcohol education, enforcement and rehabilitation.
Some of the most profitable are in the western part of the state, including Mecklenburg and Lincoln counties, Monroe, Boone and Morganton.
Dianne Whitacre Straley, a retired Charlotte Observer reporter, is a freelance writer in Hickory. Contact her with story ideas at dfwhit@gmail.com.
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