New Hanover County ranks among the highest in liquor sales across the state

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - New Hanover County is one of North Carolina’s leading ABC boards for liquor sales, with about $72.6 million in annual purchases, according to a new report by the state auditor’s office.

In an interview about a recent ABC Commission report and the state’s audit work, state auditor Dave Boliek said New Hanover County ranks fourth out of North Carolina’s 100 counties in total liquor sales.

“New Hanover County ranks fourth among all counties in total liquor sales for $72,600,000 worth of liquor sales per year,” Boliek said.

The state auditor said a combination of population growth, tourism, and event traffic drives the county’s ranking.

“That’s largely driven by a couple of factors,” the auditor said, pointing to “the tremendous population growth in New Hanover County over the last decade, as well as the proximity to beaches and convention traffic that comes through the Wilmington area.”

Boliek said that includes summer visitors to Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Figure Eight Island, along with conventions and events in Wilmington.

North Carolina is one of a group of states that manages liquor sales through a state-controlled ABC system, carried out locally through county and municipal ABC boards.

“The state has committed to managing and being the retail provider of hard liquor sales across the state of North Carolina,” the auditor said. “In doing so, there has to be a commitment of returning the net revenues to the public.”

In New Hanover County, the local ABC board operates nine stores. Boliek said that on roughly $72 million in annual sales, “that translates to $7.7 million contributed back to the community.”

The auditor’s office listed the following distribution amounts:

• $2.3 million to the City of Wilmington
• $757,000 to Wrightsville Beach
• $655,000 to Carolina Beach
• $25,000 to Kure Beach
• $3.9 million to New Hanover County

That county share includes over half a million dollars for the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department, as well as “alcohol education and rehabilitation grants” totaling “north of $742,000.”

The auditor said grant recipients in New Hanover County include the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Healing Place of New Hanover County, and the Carousel Center.

Boliek said county rankings are calculated using gross receipts and points to a key performance indicator tracked by the state: bottle shipments.

“North Carolina ships about 165,000 bottles per week across the state of North Carolina,” the auditor said, supplying “more than 400 ABC stores” statewide.

Looking ahead, Boliek said future liquor sales will depend largely on tourism trends and changing drinking habits.

Boliek encourages the public to sign up to receive copies of audits and summaries through the office website.

And said tips can be submitted online or by calling 1-800-730-8477 (“TIPS”).