Employee exodus means 14 WA liquor stores closing early
Apr 25, 2012, 5:52 AM | Updated: 6:56 am
Washington is closing 14 of its liquor stores as it deals with store employees leaving for new jobs. (Image courtesy Washington State Liquor Control Board)
(Image courtesy Washington State Liquor Control Board)
Washington is closing 14 of its liquor stores as it deals with store employees leaving for new jobs.
Voters approved an initiative last fall to kick the state out of the booze business. The initiative takes effect June 1.
Fourteen stores are closing Thursday including some locations in Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, Tacoma, Mercer Island, Bothell, Lacey, Longview and Vancouver. View the full list of locations closing.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board says the stores were chosen to minimize any service disruption.
The board says closing the 14 locations will free up about 60 experienced employees to fill the worker gaps at other stores. Three other stores will be operating at reduced hours.
The board says the closures are not related to the recent state liquor store auction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
