Selmer’s first liquor store set to open

SELMER, Tenn — Bottles line the shelves at North End Wine and Spirits Tuesday night as it prepares to turn on its neon lights for the first time.

It  is something owners said they have been working on since the city’s last election day.

“The day it passed, it was the next day that we actually found this property and made an offer and went ahead and jumped forward to do it,” co-owner, Becky Adkins explained.

So thousands of dollars of renovations later, they said they are ready to help keep local money local.

“There’s no need in going elsewhere and spending your money,” co-owner Andy Wilson told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News, Tuesday. “If you go to Savannah or you go to Corinth, you’re not just going to buy a bottle, you’re going to go eat, you’re going to stop and buy gas. Its not just the liquor. It’s the money in general and we’re losing a lot of it because of this, so we’re glad that it came in and I think everybody else is excited that its come.”

“It was a 30 or 45 minute drive, just to go get anything,” Adkins said. “Now we’ve got those tax dollars here in McNairy County, so they can keep Selmer dollars in Selmer.”

Even though nearly 40 percent of residents were not in favor of allowing the stores to be brought in, local economic officials said they back the voter’s voice.

“If someone spends a dollar in a community, normally it turns over seven times before it leaves that community,” CEO of the McNairy County Chamber of Commerce, Eddie Crittendon said. “Hopefully the good will come in different avenues from the tax revenues and people spending their money local.”

McNairy County economic officials said they expect more liquor stores to be able to open their doors throughout the rest of the year.

For more information on North End Wine & Spirits, click here.