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2018 Was Big For Utah Liquor Sales, And 2019 Promises To Be Even Bigger

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Despite long lines, record-breaking sales at Utah liquor stores continued through the holidays.

 

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control had its biggest sales day ever on Dec. 22, the Saturday before Christmas, when Utahns spent more than $3.8 million on booze in a single day.

 

Another record was previously set a month prior, before Thanksgiving, when liquor stores had $3.6 million in sales in a single day.

 

“The sales numbers have been amazing over this holiday period and the numbers even surprise us,” said DABC spokesman Terry Wood.

 

In the 2018 fiscal year, which ended in June, the state sold more than $450 million in alcohol. Tax revenue from those sales goes toward the state’s general fund, public safety and school lunches for needy children.

 

The DABC continues to Wood attributes the ever-climbing sales numbers at Utah liquor stores to the state’s growing and diversifying population.

 

Stores are open today but will close early – at 7 p.m. – for New Year’s Eve.

 

“Our little secret advice is to shop somewhere just shortly after noon until 2 p.m,” Wood said of the expected rush. “That’s the least crowded time.”

 

The DABC has big plans for 2019. Two new liquor stores are set to open: one in Syracuse, which is scheduled to open near the end of January, and another in Herriman, planned for opening later in the year. There’s also an expansion planned for the store on Foothill Drive, which Wood said will nearly triple its current floor space.

 

Nicole Nixon holds a Communication degree from the University of Utah. She has worked on and off in the KUER Newsroom since 2013, when she first joined KUER as an intern. Nicole is a Utah native. Besides public radio, she is also passionate about beautiful landscapes and breakfast burritos.
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