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Alcohol Beverage Services outlines retail strategy, safety steps and new RTD permit rollout amid tighter retail margins
Summary
ABS Director Cathy Durbin told the committee about new store openings and safety measures after a Wheaton armed incident, explained a local manufacturer program that grew from about $30,000 to $3,000,000, and described financial pressures tied to a recent POS upgrade and insurance increases; ABS said about 150 businesses are already selling spirit-based RTDs under a new permit.
Cathy Durbin, Director of Alcohol Beverage Services, told the Economic Development Committee the department is renovating and opening several retail stores (new Oak Barrel and Vine, Wheaton and White Oak store replacements) and has established a loss-prevention team after a weapon-related holdup at the Wheaton location.
"We just recently had... in our Wheaton store, we had a holdup, our first one, where it was something where somebody actually, had a weapon," Durbin said, adding that police and retail teams apprehended the suspect and that the department has expanded loss-prevention efforts.
Durbin also described a program that connects local manufacturers with ABS retail locations; she said the initiative has grown from about $30,000 in its first year to roughly $3,000,000 and that ABS partners with Visit Montgomery to promote local producers through in-store events. She told the committee ABS is permitting spirit-based ready-to-drink products (RTDs) at an 8% ABV cap and that roughly 150 additional businesses are already selling the new products under a permit process designed to be quick and low-cost.
On finances, ABS staff explained some stores appear to operate at a loss because of an internal accounting 'construct' introduced by a prior director that marked up transfers from the county warehouse to retail stores. Administration staff said much of the $3-4 million in extraordinary operating expense this year was a new point-of-sale system (approximately $1,500,000) and elevated insurance costs (about $500,000). "If we take that construct... take it all out, you'll see that the vast majority, if not all of them, actually make money," Marty Udimore, admin division chief, said.
Council members asked ABS to return during the budget process with a deeper report on store-level strategies and metrics and suggested a summer or fall work session for a full operational review; the committee scheduled a follow-up in the coming budget cycle.
Why it matters: ABS is a county enterprise that contributes to the general fund transfer; staff warned the general fund transfer will be under pressure due to flat sales and rising labor and other costs, and the committee asked for clarity on strategies to improve retail performance without undermining public-safety or public-health responsibilities.
The briefing was a staff-level update; no formal votes were recorded on ABS items during the session.
