SHARP COUNTY, AR (KAIT) – A new chapter has officially begun
in Sharp County's history.
The first alcohol has made its way onto store shelves there since
voters decided to make the county go ‘wet' on Election Day.
People can now buy beer and wine at two Sharp County stores –
the Wal-Mart in Ash Flat and the Rebel Station convenience store in Hardy.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control board recently issued
both stores the appropriate licenses to sell alcohol, which have resulted in a spike
in sales.
"This is definitely a good shot in the arm for this time of
the year," said Jerry Messer, who owns the Rebel Station.
Messer and his family run the store, which began selling
beer last Thursday.
Business has picked up significantly since then, as their
store is currently the only one in Hardy allowed to sell alcohol.
People can order a beer or a glass of wine with dinner at
the Pig ‘n Whistle, a British-themed restaurant in Hardy, since it recently became
a private club.
"We do understand that everybody else is going to receive
the same thing once they get their license and start selling," Messer said. "It's
going to be a shot in the arm for everybody that wants to sell beer and wine."
Messer began applying for a license to sell beer and wine
shortly after Sharp County voters approved the sale of alcohol in November.
He initially feared that his store's proximity to a nearby
church would prevent him from selling alcohol.
Regulations state that a convenience store cannot sell
alcohol within 350 feet of a church, school or similar facility. The Rebel
Station is located more than 600 feet from the church.
With that information in mind, he then decided to continue
pursuing the beer and wine license so that he could compete with the two other
gas stations in town.
"The tourists that
come in here to float the [Spring River] and stuff, they're going to go where
the beer and the gas and the cigarettes are," Messer said. "If you don't sell
the beer, they're just not going to stop."
Messer and his wife, Rhonda, fully intended to close their
store until they learned the state approved their license two months after they
applied for it.
"It was definitely crazy," Rhonda said, describing the first
day of sales. "The trucks pulled up wanting to buy right away, and I'm trying
to get them into the computer. It was definitely fun, absolutely fun."
That "fun" has hardly subsided, as customers like Harlan
Andrews of Horseshoe Bend are still streaming in to buy cases of beer.
"[Sharp County] is going to collect the tax dollars rather
than drive people off someplace else," Andrews said, who bought a 30-pack of
beer at the Rebel Station Monday.
Just four days into its alcohol sales, the Rebel Station has
had to restock Budweiser three times.
The owners will soon make room for wine and wine coolers in
their refrigerators, but will have to buy extra coolers to house its soft
drinks and water elsewhere.
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