La Crosse Tribune: Houston council accepts bid for city's liquor store

HOUSTON, Minn. - The prospective new owner of Houston's municipal liquor store said Tuesday he doesn't plan any major changes in its operation, except for installing a grill for hamburgers and a deep fryer for french fries and chicken drummies.

The Houston City Council on Monday night accepted the high bid of $150,250 from Carl Vogel of Winona, Minn., for the liquor store. The sale is subject to a background investigation of Vogel, as required under the city's liquor ordinance.

Three bids were submitted by Monday's deadline. Jaime Naber of Houston bid $142,000, and brothers Allen Meyer of Caledonia, Minn., and Terry Meyer of Winona bid $137,000.

"I saw an opportunity to do something a little different," said Vogel, who is payroll coordinator at Peerless Chain Co. in Winona.

"I plan on keeping it running the way it is," he said, except for adding the grill and deep fryer.

The sale will include the building, land, inventory and bar fixtures.

The city's

"It's been quite profitable in past years, but it's been kind of a rollercoaster the last five years," City Administrator Larry Jerviss said Tuesday. "It seemed like the time was right" for the city to get out of the liquor business.

The store was established by ordinance in 1938, and has a full-time manager and six parttime employees.

Sales for in-store consumption have been going down because state limits on motorists' blood-alcohol levels have been tightened in the last few years, Jerviss said. But sales for offpremise consumption have increased, he said.

The store had a-small operating loss in 2004, Jerviss said. "I think it would be iffy" whether it would turn a profit this year as a municipal liquor store, he said.

With the sale, the council will have a new liquor control ordinance to allow for licensing of privately owned businesses that sell liquor.

State law allows up to three licenses for every 1,000 people, Jerviss said. Houstons population is 1,020.