Kenmore liquor-store license rights are up for auction again

Devinder Sahota and his associates won't fill their proverbial Liquor Barn Enterprises bottle with the state-run Kenmore store after all.

By Andy Nystrom • May 17, 2012 2:11 pm

Devinder Sahota and his associates won’t fill their proverbial Liquor Barn Enterprises bottle with the state-run Kenmore store after all.

“They were really stretched out over here. We planned to operate that one, but it didn’t go through,” said Sahota, adding that the location wasn’t a good match with their funds. “We kind of weighed the pluses and minuses, and we decided to pass on it.”

Sahota, of Vacaville, Calif., was the winning bidder in a month-long online auction — which ended April 20 — for the rights to apply for a spirits retail liquor license at the Kenmore store at 6820 N.E. Bothell Way ($270,900 bid). The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) successfully auctioned the rights to licenses at its 167 stores.

On May 24, the WSLCB will host a new live auction of the rights for 18 state liquor stores. Following the online auction, top-bidders representing 18 state liquor stores did not pay their posted bid, sacrificing their deposit. Bidders representing 149 state liquor stores have already paid a total of $25.9 million in bid fees to the state.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with live bids beginning at 10 a.m. at the WSLCB Distribution Center, 4401 E. Marginal Way in Seattle. Bid deposits are $10,000.

“This has been a highly successful auction process,” said WSLCB Business Enterprise Director Pat McLaughlin. “We have already collected nearly $26 million in bids plus about one million more in fees.”

Bids in the online auction that ended April 20 totaled $30.75 million. Following the live auction, the WSLCB estimates total bids and fees will exceed $31 million.

Last month, Sahota said Liquor Barn (based in Redding, Calif.) bid on quite a few of the stores before landing the Kenmore spot. He added that they weren’t sure what their next step in the ownership process would be.

Top bidders for Bothell’s two stores — at 19111 Bothell Way N.E. (now closed) and 20617 Bothell-Everett Highway — are Balwant Singh of Lacey ($154,100 bid) and Abi Eshagi of Woodinville ($110,800 bid), respectively.

• Stores to be auctioned with store number, city and street address:

002 Seattle 1201 2nd Ave.

003 Tacoma 3208 South 23rd St., Suite 1

006 Marysville 6608 64th St. NE, Suite C

032 Enumclaw 1040 Stevenson Ave. #B

042 Seattle 400 Broadway E

044 Spokane 5004 E Sprague Ave. #101

066 Kent 20514 108th Ave. SE

082 Kent 23219 Pacific Hwy S

085 Bellevue 15600 NE 8th St. #K-07

093 Kenmore 6820 NE Bothell Way

113 Seattle 118 NE 45th St.