Somerset —
Liquor World’s quest to open a flagship store in Somerset demonstrates the high-stakes involved in landing one of only five available licenses for a full-line package store here.
“We’re ready to buy and remodel Somerset’s North Plaza Shopping Center for the Somerset Liquor World if we are awarded a license,” Wesley Morgan, CEO of Liquor World headquartered in Richmond, said during an interview yesterday. “Everything is ready, all we have to do is get the license, sign the paperwork, and we’re ready to go.”
A sign announcing Liquor World’s intentions is expected to be erected at North Plaza — home of Big Lots and Peddlers Mall — today.
Liquor World is one of 17 businesses competing for Somerset’s five package store licenses—a quota determined by the state Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) agency based on population and economic factors. (See accompanying chart of license applicants.)
What distinguishes Liquor World is that it appears to be the only business prepared to invest $5 million to purchase and remodel North Plaza Shopping Center on North U.S. 27.
“We plan to remodel the former [Home Gallery] furniture store into a 20,000- square-foot liquor store with a drive-through service window as our new Somerset store,” Morgan said.
A former hair salon located on the south side of the old Home Gallery will be removed to make way for Liquor World’s drive-through window.
“The former Tray’s Garden and Jewelry Factory buildings will be remodeled and prepared for new tenants. Big Lots and Peddlers Mall each have leases to 2015, so they will continue business at their current locations.
“We are also in talks with Texas Roadhouse to build a restaurant in the plaza,” Morgan noted.
Morgan said the Somerset Liquor World would hire between 15 and 25 employees from the local labor force.
“We also plan on using local contractors and suppliers when we build our store,” he noted. “We see our investment here has being a very good thing for Somerset.”
Of course all that is contingent on Liquor World being awarded a package store license.
“We’ve been working with Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler and ABC Administrator Nick Bradley and they have very nice to deal with. It is clear to us that they welcome economic development in Somerset,” Morgan said.
In addition to its 27,000-square-foot headquarters in Richmond, Liquor World operates a 4,000-square-foot express store in Manchester.
“At one time we were the second highest volume [package] store in the state of Kentucky,” Morgan noted.
However, a series of local option elections overturning prohibition in a string of south central Kentucky counties has steadily eroded Liquor World’s business.
“We had a tremendous amount of business from Somerset and Pulaski County as well as other counties south of us, and we also had steady business from the Ohio Navy,” Morgan said.
Recently Liquor World lost a bitter fight to obtain a package store license in Corbin. In the aftermath, Morgan issued the following statement on Liquor World’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LiquorWorldKY):
“We undoubtedly had the best physical location. We would have constructed an 11,000 sq ft building right off 75, and would have had an enormous selection of liquor and party supplies.
“We would have had the greatest economic impact on your city because we planned to spend 2.3 million dollars on this project. All of this was outlined in our plan and application submitted to the ABC board. Instead, you have received a remodeled front of an old car dealership, a remodeled Dairy Queen, and an empty lot behind Applebees that we predict will never have a building constructed on it.
“It is a shame that corruption and bribery has placed the citizens of Corbin and the surrounding area in an economic disadvantage, because you will never have competitively priced products because the licenses were given to individuals who are partners in other liquor stores outside the community.
“We have been told from the start that we would be targeted to be knocked out because of our competitiveness. We will continue to operate competitive stores in Richmond and Manchester, and would love to see our customers continue to shop there when they can.
“We will be applying for a license in Somerset and hopefully someday London. Our attorneys have filed open record requests from both the state and local authorities who determined who received these licenses. If our inquiries result in any solid evidence that there has been a bribe made to prevent us from coming to Corbin, which we expect, we will take legal action.
“It is a shame that the people of Corbin must suffer due to the greed of others.”
Morgan told the Commonwealth Journal that his company is continuing to pursue legal remedies in the Corbin license denial.
Morgan’s family entered the liquor business in 1969 when his parents, Edgar Bascom Morgan and his wife, Norma Jean, opened “Morgan’s Whiskey Store” in Perry County. Young Wesley, helped his mother and father with their business while he attended school.
Thirteen years later, in 1982, Wesley opened his first liquor store, Uncle Pete’s Liquor, in Richmond. Soon thereafter, he went on to open Wesley’s Warehouse Liquor, Wesley’s Warehouse Liquor Too, MegaLiquor, and finally Liquor World in April 2001.
In April 2011, Morgan opened Liquor World Express of Manchester in Clay County.
Today, Morgan serves as Vice President of the Kentucky Association of Beverage Retailers.
“Due to the transfer of our customer base from Richmond to Somerset, I can see the Somerset store becoming our flagship store, and conversion of the Richmond store to an express store.”
‘We have had long had a love of Somerset and the Lake Cumberland area. Over the years we purchased two houseboats from Sharpe Houseboats. For a long time we docked our houseboat at Lee’s Ford until we moved it to Lake Cumberland State Park when the lake level dropped. But plan to move it back to Lee’s Ford if we are granted the license,” Morgan said.
“We feel we have a lot to offer in the economic development of Somerset and look forward to working with the community.”
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