After meeting in closed session during a called meeting on Nov. 13, the Franklin Town Council voted 4-1 not to move forward with purchasing the building on Carolina Drive as a new location for the ABC store. Council member David Culpepper cast the nay vote. Council member Rita Salain was participating in the meeting via video and therefore could not vote.
The council voted in September to begin due diligence on the property and was prepared to offer $799,000 for the 6,900-square-foot building owned by Jeremy Vale and Carol Vale of Otto. During its retreat at the beginning of the year, the Town Council listed finding a new location for the store a priority for 2024-25.
When coming out of the closed session on Nov. 13, Mayor Jack Horton said they had decided not to pursue the Carolina Drive building as an option following research and discussion with the ABC Board and the ABC liaison.
Council member Joe Collins serves as the town’s liaison to the ABC board and has been a proponent of the town owning property for the store rather than renting. Collins said he thought the Carolina Drive location was a good option, but that according to North Carolina statute, the ABC Board must approve where the store is located. In this case, they did not.
ABC store Manager Todd Mason said the building on Carolina Drive would not have had good traffic flow or visibility.
“We definitely want our own building,” Mason said. “We want a good location.”
He said it would be beneficial for the town to have its own building rather than paying rent as it has for the 20 years since the ABC store opened. “Hindsight is 20/20,” Mason said.
The ABC store rents its current space in the Macon Plaza shopping center, which is owned by Ingles Markets, Inc. Town Manager Amie Owens said the lease on the space expired in November 2023 and they have been renting on a month-to-month basis. The monthly rent is $9,270.29.
Mason said the ABC Board is still actively considering options including existing buildings or a vacant lot on which they could build. He said with an existing building they have to consider the cost of renovating the space; renovations would have been needed at the Carolina Drive location.
Culpepper said the town has been working hard to find another location for the ABC store and that the Carolina Drive property seemed like a good solution, even with the building needing renovations.
“The ABC board spends a lot of money at their current location,” Culpepper said, adding that staying at that location is not good for business because of the high rent.
Mason said they would want a space that accommodates their current size operations and perhaps allow room for expansion in the future, which he said would depend on how Franklin grows. He said if the town ever got more restaurants that served mixed drinks, such as chain restaurants, then the ABC store would need more room for packaging and storage of beverages for restaurants. By North Carolina law, restaurants must purchase liquor from the ABC store.
Collins said he is still in favor of the town owning property for the ABC store rather than renting and perhaps in the future the ABC Board will be more agreeable to a move.