The common conclusion that liquor sales are the recession exception, able to survive the economic downtown relatively unscathed, hasn't been entirely true for Bellevue liquor store owner Martin Chandler. But it does hold some water.
Chandler, who has owned Guffy's liquor and convenience store for 10 years, said that even though the usual growth in liquor sales slowed when the recession hit in late 2007, his business has continued to annually sell more, dollar wise, than the prior year. The Idaho State Liquor Division tracks sales and reported Guffy's as bringing in $637,000 from liquor sales in 2006, $691,000 in 2007, an increase of 8.5 percent, and $726,000 in 2008, a 5.1 percent increase over the previous year. Last year was about flat at $723,000.
The store has managed to increase sales despite the recession, but it has fallen short of its average annual sales growth of 8 percent—calculated using data back to 2000. However, more sales dollars came in during 2008 than any other year. And Chandler said that 2010 is poised for 6 percent more sales than 2009, which would set the bar even higher.
"When the times get tough, the tough go drinking," Chandler said, tweaking the common adage, "When times get tough, the tough get going."
He said many of Guffy's customers are construction workers, who are used to waking up early but are without work.
"They still wake up early but go fishing," he said, adding that they stop by Guffy's—which opens at 5 a.m.—before heading out. "They live here, and they still drink."
Idaho is one of 18 controlled states, meaning the state controls liquor-store sales, distributing liquor in either state stores—Ketchum and Hailey each have one of those—or contracted liquor stores—Carey, Bellevue and Sun Valley each have one of those. The state tracks sales for each store.
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Even though Chandler's Bellevue store is weathering the recession in the southern Wood River Valley, the farther one travels toward Bald Mountain and the Sun Valley area at the northernmost end, the worse liquor sales get. The southern and mid-valley liquor stores of Carey, Bellevue and Hailey have cumulatively increased sales by 5 percent from 2007-2009, while the northern resort area towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley have drawn in 6 percent fewer sales dollars over the same time. And Ketchum's liquor store takes in about $2.5 million in annual sales, about equal to sales at the county's four other liquor stores combined. That caused liquor sales throughout the count to remain flat from 2007-2009, pulling in $4.8 million in 2009, just $50,000 off of 2007. Throughout the state, on the other hand, liquor sales climbed by 11 percent during that same time.
Jeff Anderson, director of the Idaho State Liquor Division, said the reason for the valley's falling liquor sales is the poor-performing tourism sector of the past couple of years. The Wood River Valley's economy, unlike that of Idaho in general, is tourism-based. Sun Valley Resort is the valley's largest private employer.
"When their business if off, our business is off," Anderson said.
Frank Herman, who manages the liquor store inside the Sun Valley Deli, said that almost all customers are tourists staying at Sun Valley Resort. He said the store hasn't followed the assumed trend of being unaffected by the recessed economy because it doesn't rely on locals, as is the case at Guffy's in Bellevue and most liquor stores. The State Liquor Division reported the store's sales as decreasing 21 percent from 2008-2009. Herman said he hasn't seen the sales numbers for 2010, but the division's auditor said the store is pulling in a little more than it did last year.
"Tourism has picked up and sales are improving," Herman said.
Tourism is also vital for Sun Valley and Ketchum bars, which sold 22 percent fewer drinks from January through October 2010 compared to the same months of the pre-recession year of 2007, according to monthly collections of local-option taxes for by-the-glass alcohol sales.
Sean Buckley has been bartending at both the Casino Club and Whiskey Jacques' in Ketchum for four years. He said the bars have been "highly affected" by fewer visitors coming into the resort town—even at the Casino, well known as the locals' bar. Plus, he said, bar-goers are staying away from liquor and mixed drinks.
"At Whiskey's, we're selling a lot more PBR [Pabst Blue Ribbon] cans, our cheapest beer," he said. "People are trying to make their money go further."
However, caution is thrown to the wind during the holiday season. Buckley said business triples from Christmas through New Year's. The same goes for liquor stores. Herman said these couple weeks are the busiest of the winter, doubling his usual rate of 13-15 cases of liquor sold every two weeks.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Mike Hofferber, worker at the state-operated liquor store in Ketchum, is busier than usual during the holiday season. However, the store’s liquor sales have lagged since the recession began in late 2007. Photo by David N. Seelig
