Fremont ABC store still open, for now
By Laura Collins
Published in News on April 22, 2010 1:46 PM
The decision on whether to close the Fremont ABC store was postponed Wednesday for at least another two weeks.
The Wayne County ABC Board met Wednesday at noon, but ended up not approving the closure of the Fremont ABC store.
"Two or three of the board members wanted to think about it overnight," said Mike Myrick, business manager for the board.
Myrick said he expects the board will vote before its next regular board meeting May 19. He said sales are down "very low" at the Fremont ABC store and it is losing money. He estimates the store, which is only open Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, brings in about $16,000-$17,000 each month. The store lost about a third of its business in March 2006 when it was robbed twice, Myrick said.
Fremont Town Adminis-trator Kerry McDuffie said he would like to see the store remain open. The town gets about $2,500 revenue from the store every year, and it also provides people in the town another option.
"Folks that want to keep it open need to contact the ABC Board members and make them aware of it," McDuffie said. "It's nice to provide a service to northern Wayne County. There's a store in the southern part of the county in the Mount Olive area. There's a store in the eastern part of the county in Walnut Creek. There's a store in the western part of the county, and we think it's good to keep a store in all parts of the county."
Fremont police Chief R.K. Rawlings said closing the store might not be the best decision for the town.
"I think people in Fremont need a place where they can buy alcohol legally," he said. "A lot of people here are not driving and the ones that do don't want to drive all the way to Goldsboro. You're going to find out that it's easier to go to unlicensed houses to buy alcohol illegally. Unauthorized sales will go up."
Residents can contact the Wayne County ABC Board at 909 Landmark Drive, Golds-boro, N.C., 27534, by phone at 919-778-7731 or by e-mail at admin@wayneabc.com.