Danville Walmart acquiring package liquor license from existing business
Published 8:58 am Friday, March 23, 2018
Walmart has purchased a package liquor license from one of Danville’s six current license holders, Codes Enforcement Director Bridgette Lester confirmed Thursday. Walmart needs the license to open the liquor store it’s constructing on a front corner of its building.
Lester would not specify which of the six current license holders sold their license. One of those six liquor stores has closed, however — the Chill’s location on Thoroughbred Drive by Big Lots has gone out of business. The former business’ location was dark Thursday, with no signs in the windows.
Lester said Walmart still has to successfully apply for the license before it can be used.
“Walmart has to go through the application process and they have to apply for it even though they’ve bought it,” she said. “Something could technically legally happen that they would not get it, but that’s unlikely with a big corporation … I couldn’t imagine anything going wrong with Walmart.”
Lester said Walmart has not yet formally filed its application to use the license.
Walmart first gained approval for an approximately 5,000-square-foot liquor store from the Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission in October. Work is already underway at the store on the new building.
Danville was also recently given a seventh liquor license by the state; the city and state are currently accepting initial applications for that new license.