Alcohol at Walgreens?

Walgreens' one-stop shopping philosophy may soon include the chance to buy a six-pack of beer and a bottle of wine.

The drugstore chain is asking the City Council to recommend liquor licenses for 20 of its Omaha stores. The chain wants to sell beer and wine.

The proposal comes as another major retailer, CVS pharmacy, prepares to move into the Omaha market.

At least four CVS stores are scheduled to open next year — three in Omaha and one in Bellevue. Some CVS outlets sell alcohol along with drugstore items.

“I can see where they are trying to sell alcohol to be competitive,” Councilwoman Jean Stothert said Wednesday of Walgreens. Her southwest district includes four Walgreens that want liquor licenses. “It's a business decision.”

If the licenses are approved, it would mark a successful first step toward selling alcohol at Walgreens stores in Nebraska. The chain recently began selling beer and wine at 63 of its Iowa locations, including the three in Council Bluffs.

The company has 54 stores in Nebraska, 27 of them in Omaha. Robert Elfinger, a spokesman for the Deerfield, Ill.-based chain, said the company eventually wants to sell beer and wine at all of them.

Stothert, along with Councilmen Chris Jerram and Pete Festersen, are concerned that allowing so many Walgreens to sell alcohol might create problems in neighborhoods where liquor stores are abundant.

Elfinger said that if the Omaha licenses are approved, alcohol would make up a small part of Walgreens' retail space. Stores would not sell spirits, 40-ounce bottles of beer or other individual cans or bottles of beer.

“This is simply a very moderate selection of beer and wine . . . less than 2 percent of the total shelf space,” he said.

Another issue for the council could be the density of Walgreens locations in Omaha. In some cases, the stores are only blocks apart.

“If you live in Omaha, you know that Walgreens have been popping up. . . . They're everywhere,” said Diane Riibe, executive director for Project Extra Mile, a group that fights underage drinking. “Now they're a liquor store. It's going to be a large enforcement problem.”

Neighborhood leaders have long been concerned about the number of liquor stores east of 72nd Street. Jerram's midtown and downtown district includes three Walgreens that could sell beer and wine.

“If you look around midtown, we already have an incredible amount of (liquor) outlets,” he said. “It's troubling.”

Festersen, who represents Florence, Benson and part of Dundee, said each of the 20 Walgreens locations up for liquor licenses would be considered individually rather than as a group. His district includes three Walgreens stores hoping to sell alcohol.

The council could recommend approving the licenses on Tuesday, but the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission will have the final say.

This week, Walgreens applied for liquor licenses at two Nebraska stores — one in York and one near Papillion.

“It's part of a national rollout,” Elfinger said. “It's really to provide convenience to our existing customers.”

Walgreens has been in the alcohol business before. The chain had a full liquor department until the 1990s, when management decided to do away with it. “At the time, it was very cumbersome,” he said.

Things are different now, Elfinger added. First, the store's alcohol would be limited to beer and wine. Second, advances in technology will make it easier for store managers to track inventory and prevent sales to minors.

A public hearing will be held at Tuesday's council meeting. Meetings are at 2 p.m. in the City-County Building, 1819 Farnam St.

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