ABC leaders moving Pender warehouses, offices to new Burgaw location

After selling spirits since 1963, the Pender County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is ready to start a new chapter after outgrowing its space.

During a September meeting, the Burgaw Board of Commissioners approved a permit for a planned building group with the retail liquor store, warehouse, and office. The 15,300 square-foot space will be located east of U.S. 117 across from East Fremont Street, with more than 30 parking spaces.

The request was made by Drew Wilgus, project architect and designer at Smith Sinnett Architecture, on behalf of Pender's ABC Board. Wilgus said it will be twice as big or larger than the current facility in Burgaw.

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"I think it will be a lot more inviting than their existing facility," he said. "The idea behind it was to be attractive to folks driving by and to bring customers in from the streets."

The local board report to the states ABC Commission, an agency housed in the N.C. Department of Public Safety. It provides uniform control over the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption and possession of all alcoholic beverages in the state. North Carolina is one of 17 control states and jurisdictions.

Town officials said the project known as the Pender County ABC Retail and Distribution Center, new location is an area where commercial growth is desirable under land use plans. This includes commercial spaces such as retail, auto sales, hotels, and shopping centers.

According to site data documents submitted to Pender County, the developer for the land is Bordeaux Construction Company of Raleigh. The land was previously owned by Eva Jones.

Currently, the county's ABC Board is located at 207 U.S. Highway 117 Bypass, which is less than a mile of the new site. Since the 1960s, it has served customers in Burgaw and and surrounding communities. Items from the warehouse were sent to ABC stores to the defunct Atkinson location, Rocky Point, Hampstead, and Surf City.

He described the existing space as a run of the mill place with windows in the front and a desk near the entrance.

"It's just a room with wooden shelves," he said while comparing the old building and plans for the new one. "This one is going to be very open on the inside. It's going to have a lot of windows and natural daylight, and it's going to be a more pleasant space to be in."

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The Pender ABC Board is now looking to expand.

"If the proposed site is developed in accordance with the proposed plans, the Pender County ABC system can increase its distribution of alcohol products to its retail stores resulting in increased profits and sales that can be returned to the Town of Burgaw through sales tax and net profit distributions, as distributed based upon a distribution formula previously enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly," town officials stated in staff report.

According to an annual report, with data from the 2021 fiscal year, Pender had a gross sales total of more than $10.63 million, which was an increase of more than $2 million from the 2020 fiscal year. The forecast for 2022 is $10.33 million.

For the 2021 total, the state collected $2.44 million in taxes, while more than $969,000 went back locally in Pender. Revenues are divided for different purposes in the county. According the Pender's ABC website, about 5% to 15% of gross profits go to law enforcement, while another 2% to 5% goes to alcohol education. Mosquito control takes up 5% of gross profits.

For net profits, 65% goes to the county's general fund, and 35% of the money is sent to municipalities where stores are located based on sales.

Wilgus reported that construction is expected to start in 2023 after additional permitting steps are complete. It will take about a year or so to complete.

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.