LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A total of 50 Dollar General stores across Arkansas have been approved for beer sales, reported the Arkansas News Bureau, citing the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. Agency records show ABC Director Michael Langley considered 64 applications for beer permits from Dollar General stores and approved all but 14 of them.
The stores approved for permits include five each in Fort Smith, Little Rock and Pine Bluff, four each in Harrison and Paragould and three in Fayetteville, said the report. Other stores that received approval are in Altus, Augusta, Brinkley, Bull Shoals, Cherry Valley, Eudora, Flippin, Hughes, Lake Village, Maumelle, Mountain Home, Newport, Ozark, Paris, Redfield, Sherwood, Stuttgart, Tuckerman, West Memphis and Wrightsville.
Langley denied applications for stores in DeWitt, Fayetteville, Fordyce, Green Forest, Marked Tree, Marmaduke, Marvell, McCrory, Springdale, Tontitown and Yellvillle.
The director denied applications in each case in which local residents, churches, law enforcement officials or elected officials provided written notice of their opposition. Dollar General can appeal those rulings to the ABC Board.
Dollar General has stores in 36 states and operates 265 stores in Arkansas. The discount retailer is conducting a nationwide rollout of beer sales, spokesperson Tawn Earneste said.
"Our stores have always been at the intersection of value and convenience," she told the news agency. "This is a product that we know our customers purchase elsewhere. It's an opportunity for us to give them an opportunity to make that purchase in one trip to DG."
Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General offers products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. It operates approximately 9,650 stores in 35 states. In addition to private brands, Dollar General sells products from manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nabisco, Hanes, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.
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