Many Utah liquor stores close after 5.7 magnitude quake

File photo: Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 18, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah State Liquor Stores from Logan to Draper and from Heber City to Tooele will be closed all day Wednesday in order to check for structural damage due to the 5.7 earthquake and following aftershocks.

“Several stores did experience broken bottles falling from the shelves and racks, but any store in the earthquake zone described above will be closed until the Division of Facilities Construction and Management inspectors can guarantee its safety,” said Terry Wood, director of communications and public information for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Stores in Utah County, Vernal, Moab, Price, Cedar City, Hurricane and St. George will remain open at normal hours.

The DABC warehouse is closed today due to broken bottles and a broken sprinkler line, according to Wood.

No injuries have been reported by DABC employees.

“Beginning tomorrow, March 19, and continuing for two weeks, all Utah State Liquor Stores will maintain shorter hours, opening at noon and closing at 7 p.m.,” Wood said. “This is due to staff shortages during the COVID-19 restrictions. These store hours will be re-evaluated at the end of the two week period.

“No DABC employee has tested positive for the disease at this time. Should a store employee test positive, that store will be shut down, employees sent home to quarantine, and the store sanitized so it can be reopened as soon as possible.”

All DABC stores are practicing “social distancing” during the outbreak.

“That means stores will limit the number of customers inside in order to maintain safe distances from each other…six feet,” Wood said. “The number of people allowed inside and in lines will vary from store to store depending on the size of the store. It will be the store manager’s judgement of the safe number of customers allowed inside. Customers should be aware they may be asked to remain outside briefly.

“We ask cooperation and understanding from all. Customers are being encouraged to use credit cards for purchases and discouraged from using cash.  These are Department of Health guidelines. Store clerks will wear sanitary gloves and sanitize the checkout area after each transaction.”

Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.

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