If it’s time for a toast, the new Highlands ABC store has you covered.
On Thursday, the ABC Board members, town officials, store staff, and members of the public gathered for an official ribbon cutting at the new store location on Oak Street.
The three-year project to take the former Highlands Fire Department building and turn it into a retail space was met with wide-spread approval from patrons and officials alike.
“We have to start by thanking the town, their staff, and the town board for seeing the vision of what this place could be,” ABC store general manager Kevin Vinson said. “It was great to work with Jeff Weller on the plans, and Cynthia Dendy on the financial side, making sure we had all the ducks in a row to make it happen.”
The new store is more than double the size of the former ABC store in Highlands Plaza. It features four separate rooms for specific spirits, an expanded cold beverage section, and ample storage for stock. Being a former fire station, the building also features two large bay doors that enter into the distribution room for commercial customers who pick up their orders.
“The distribution room is something we are really proud of because it’s just drastically more efficient for everyone involved,” ABC board member Steve Mehder said. “My background is in manufacturing, and we always used to say ‘every step is a dollar’ when it came to the layout of a factory. The further you have to walk to do your job, the more time and money you are losing. In this new setup it’s all in one room and it’s easy to access.”
ABC board member Dave O’Hara used his time at the ribbon cutting podium to acknowledge the hard work of the store’s staff in moving the entire inventory to a new location.
“What’s amazing is they were able to move from the old store into this location in less than five days,” O’Hara said. “I know they worked some very long hours that week, packaging everything, physically moving all the boxes, the coolers, etc. and I know they are excited to see this day come.”
Revenue created by the ABC store pays the organization’s overhead and the rest is dispersed within the Town of Highlands. Being in a stand-alone building on Oak Street means the store will no longer be paying rent, and thus there will be more funds for town initiatives.
“We’re the only ABC store in the state that has our revenue earmarked for specific causes within the town,” Vinson said. “Most ABC stores just write a check each year to the municipality they are in, and they use the money as they see fit. Some of our revenue goes toward law enforcement, some is used for scholarships, some is used for parks and recreation. We contribute to Highlands in a lot of ways.”
The ABC store will operate under a 10-year lease since the Town of Highlands owns the building, and that lease will come with a $1 price tag.
“The new facility is good for everybody,” ABC board member Rick Trevathan said. “It’s good for the consumers, because there is a wider range of products. It’s good for the staff, because they have more room to operate. It’s good for Highlands because it’s a revenue stream for the town and it puts an otherwise empty building to use in a way that gives back to the community financially.”