Asheboro ABC wants to open second store in North Asheboro

ASHEBORO — A second ABC store in Asheboro could be a possibility if an adequate location is found.
The Asheboro ABC Board summed up its intentions in the following press release:

“The Asheboro ABC Board is entertaining the idea of opening a new store to serve the citizens residing in North Asheboro. The Board is looking generally in the area along North Fayetteville Street from Hub Morris Road to Pineview Street. 

“The ideal location will accommodate a 5,000-square-foot building with parking for 40+ vehicles and a loading dock capable of docking tractor and trailer deliveries.

“The location must have easy access to both north- and south-bound traffic traveling North Fayetteville Street, preferably at a traffic signal, or at a location which warrants a signal based upon a traffic study. 

“If anyone has a suitable property and is interested in improving the property for a long-term lease, please submit your proposal to the Asheboro ABC Board, 700 South Fayetteville St., Asheboro, NC 27203, or by email at
ABCAsheboro@gmail.com.”

Rodney Johnson, general manager of Asheboro ABC, told Randolph Hub, “We have to look after the citizens who voted in liquor sales who are a long way from (the current store at 700 S. Fayetteville St.) in North Asheboro. 

“That’s a lot of residents. We owe them the convenience since they helped vote in liquor sales” in the 2008 alcohol referendum.

Johnson said the location mentioned in the press release, along Fayetteville Street between Hub Morris Road and Pineview Street, is considered by the ABC Board to be the “ideal geographical area … based on traffic counts and population. Fayetteville Street has by far the highest traffic count.” 

If no locations are available there, he said, the board would “consider what is realistic. There are quite a few parcels of land that would fit. 

“I don’t know of any buildings that we could retrofit. That’s why we’re asking the public. There may be things we might not have thought of. We’ll let the public know and entertain additional ideas we’ve not thought of.”

Another issue to consider, Johnson said, is staffing.

“It’s hard to hire people now,” he said. “We’re not getting quality applications and we’ve had a hard time hiring for the current store.”

Johnson assumed that the ABC Board’s difficulties hiring are the same as with other employers. “All I know is that the applications don’t meet the standards we’re looking for.”