Marshall County alcohol board continues decision on Raymond Convenience Store permit after tobacco and proximity concerns

The Marshall County Alcoholic Beverage Board postponed action on a new alcohol permit for Raymond Convenience Store until its August meeting after concerns that the business operates primarily as a tobacco shop and is located near a school.

Board staff told the board the applicant emailed this morning asking to continue because the owner was hospitalized and could not attend. Staff described the current business as being “90% tobacco, 85% tobacco” and said the store carries only a small rack of snacks and lacks typical convenience-store groceries such as meat, cheese, milk and eggs. Staff said the store initially opened as a tobacco store and had to lock tobacco behind the counter when it was too close to a school.

Board members agreed to continue the item to next month so the applicant could either supply additional evidence that the location will meet convenience-store standards or withdraw the application. No formal vote count was recorded in the transcript; the board’s action was to continue consideration to the August meeting.

The board’s discussion distinguished between the applicant’s absent-owner situation and the threshold for qualifying as a convenience store eligible for an alcohol permit: staff emphasized that adding alcohol to a primarily tobacco-focused retail floor plan would create what staff described as a “tobacco alcohol store” unless the business otherwise stocked a broader range of groceries.

The board did not take further action on the permit at the July session. The transcript does not specify whether the applicant submitted any documentation of planned changes or a proposed floor plan; those materials were described as forthcoming or to be discussed at the next meeting.