Tag Archives: alcohol

How a Bremerton Safeway got its liquor license suspended

Customers who stopped to grab a six-pack last weekend at the Callow Avenue Safeway left empty handed.

CMZqmCzVEAIP-BlShoppers found the alcohol aisle shrouded in black plastic. An orange sign warned the store’s liquor license had been suspended from Aug. 13 through Aug. 18.

How did one of Bremerton’s busiest grocery stores get its liquor license temporarily pulled?

Through a series of missteps, according to a spokesman for the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board.

It began in June, when the Safeway was cited for selling alcohol to a minor during a routine compliance check.

Because it was the store’s first citation in the past two years, management was given the choice of a $500 fine or five-day suspension (repeat offenders are automatically suspended).

Naturally, the store chose to pay the fine.

The problem, according to the Liquor and Cannabis spokesman, was Safeway failed to deliver a check to the board within the 20 days allotted for payment. Missing the deadline triggered a five-day suspension and the orange signs went up.

How unusual is it for a store to get its liquor license suspended? Pretty unusual, it turns out.

In the past 12 months the Callow Safeway was the only store in Kitsap County to have a suspension handed down.

Compliance checks dissuade illegal tobacco and alcohol sales

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A local drug and alcohol abuse prevention group conducted random compliance checks on alcohol and tobacco retailers last week. The results were promising.

blog.boozeThe Bremerton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition tested 22 alcohol retailers in the city to see if they would sell to minors. Only three made the illegal sales, according to a news release.

The coalition also checked nine tobacco retailers. None sold to minors.

The coalition is a partnership between Kitsap County, Bremerton Police and the state Liquor Control Board.

The agencies were assisted in the checks by investigative aides from youth groups at Emmanuel Apostolic Church and Living Life Leadership. The minors attempt to purchase tobacco or alcohol, and present their real identification or no identification when requested.

The checks are conducted regularly in an effort to dissuade illegal sales. Enforcement officers can fine or suspend businesses for violations.

Results from the Bremerton coalition’s checks were more positive than the findings of a state report released this year.  The Synar Report found many Kitsap County retailers willing to sell cigarettes to minors.