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SALT LAKE CITY -- Despite the highly publicized problems and improper business practices of the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, liquor sales during the holiday season has drastically increased.
The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for liquor sales, but it is the entire holiday season that does better than the rest of the year combined, according to officials with the DABC.
At the Cottonwood Liquor Store on Fort Union, employees are still putting final touches on a new expansion project, but that has not stopped consumers from buying liquor for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Average Utah Consumption Per Capita (In
gallons)
FY 2011
- Wine: 1.028
- Spirits: 0.875
- Heavy Beer: 0.478
- Flavored Malt Beverages: 0.042
- Wine: 0.975
- Spirits: 0.830
- Heavy Beer: 0.457
- Flavored Malt Beverages: 0.035
Comparative Gallonage for Utah:
FY 2011
- Wine: 2,895,167
- Spirits: 2,464,136
- Heavy Beer: 1,344,505
- Flavored Malt Beverages: 118,133
- Wine: 2,777,208
- Spirits: 2,363,527
- Heavy Beer: 1,300,064
- Flavored Malt Beverages: 100,854
Source: DABC
"I've picked out some cabernets and some chardonnays," said shopper Janet Urborn. She said she is getting ready for all the guests that will visit her home over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The Cottonwood store was already one of the busiest liquor stores in the state, but since its reopening, liquor sales are already going through the roof.
On a typical weekday, the DABC said statewide liquor and wine store sales average about $600,000 a day. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving last year, the statewide sales were more than $1.6 million. The day before Thanksgiving, sales increased to more than $2 million.
Although the space has not been filled yet, the Cottonwood store has more room for the high-end liquors and wines, which is one area where the DABC says liquor sales are growing the most.
The DABC has been scrutinized recently as audits reveal poor business activities from past leaders, but the agency still has hundreds of employees meeting the state's demand for alcohol beverages.
Last year, total liquor sales amounted to $295 million, with $29 million going to school lunch programs and another $62 million to that state's general fund.
Email: rpiatt@ksl.com
