Coronavirus

ABC Temporarily Closing 78 Stores

(Source: Pikrepo under Creative Commons Zero – CC0)

The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is temporarily closing 78 stores and reducing hours at others today in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Because of staffing requirements and health concerns, we believe that closing some of our stores will provide the greatest amount of employee/customer protection, while ensuring maximum productivity and efficiency,” ABC’s government relations manager, Dean Argo, said in an email.

In 2018, ABC had 864 employees, according to Alabama State Personnel Department data. There are about 170 stores statewide

Argo said that staff at the shuttered stores would be moved to others nearby.

Stores remaining open will operate from noon to 7 p.m., Argo said.

Starting Wednesday, all stores will operate as “over the counter,” Argo said, to keep distance between customers and employees, and no more than five customers at a time will be allowed in a store.

Customers will not be allowed to get products from store shelves. Store personnel will ask customers for their order, retrieve it and bring it to check out.

Customers are being asked to pay with credit and debit cards, not cash.

As of Monday evening, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported 29 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in the state. Seventeen of them are in Jefferson County, the state’s most populous county.

With many people are “social distancing,” as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested, others are stocking up on many things, including alcohol.

“Over the last week or so sales have been on the uptick,” Argo told Alabama Daily News on Monday. “I’m not saying that that is directly related to COVID-19, but I will say that sales are increasing.”

On Sunday, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a memo to state agency directors saying they should advise employees to work from home if possible. If working from home is not feasible, the employee should remain away from the workplace and practice social distancing, as appropriate, for the next several weeks, Ivey’s memo said.

Events and gatherings of more than 50 people are discouraged, and schools and colleges across the state have closed or moved classes online.

STORE CLOSURES BY DISTRICT:
DISTRICT 1:
STORE 29, HELENA
STORE 92, HOOVER
STORE 111, HOMEWOOD
STORE 121, COLUMBIANA
STORE 146, PELHAM
STORE 233, ALABASTER
DISTRICT 2:
STORE 30, TARRANT CITY
STORE 70, ROEBUCK
STORE 107, SPRINGVILLE
STORE 143, CHALKVILLE
STORE 230, PINSON
DISTRICT 14:
STORE 17, FAIRFIELD
STORE 18, BIRMINGHAM
STORE 26, BESSEMER
STORE 144, ADAMSVILLE
DISTRICT 3:
STORE 13, RAINBOW  CITY
STORE 22, JACKSONVILLE
STORE 94, ANNISTON
STORE 103, ASHVILLE
STORE 122, ATTALA
STORE 231, HEFLIN
DISTRICT 4:
STORE 8, MOBILE
STORE 62, MOBILE
STORE 139, TILLMAN’S CORNER
STORE 164, MOBILE
STORE 182, MOBILE
STORE 234, MOBILE
DISTRICT 5:
STORE 33, OPELIKA
STORE 52, UNION SPRINGS
STORE 131, LAFAYETTE
STORE 226, OPELIKA
DISTRICT 6:
STORE 3, MONTGOMERY
STORE 5, MONTGOMERY
STORE 112, HAYNEVILLE
STORE 135, MONTGOMERY
DISTRICT 7:
STORE 6, GENEVA
STORE 36, HEADLAND
STORE 71, CLAYTON
STORE 89, DOTHAN
STORE 120, DALEVILLE
STORE 126, DOTHAN
DISTRICT 8:
STORE 82, NORTHPORT
STORE 100, MONTEVALLO
STORE 115, GREENSBORO
STORE 134, BRENT
STORE 138, TUSCALOOSA
STORE 183, TUSCALOOSA
STORE 227, ALICEVILLE
DISTRICT 9:
STORE 60, LIVINGSTON
STORE 61, SARALAND
STORE 93, EIGHT MILE
STORE 117, LINDEN
STORE 141, SEMMES
STORE 165, MOUNT VERNON
DISTRICT 10:
STORE 2, MONTGOMERY
STORE 12, MONTGOMERY
STORE 63, PIKE ROAD
STORE 79, MILLBROOK
STORE 118, PRATTVILLE
STORE 229, MONTGOMERY
DISTRICT 11:
STORE 7, SPANISH FORT
STORE 21, DAPHNE
STORE 179, ROBERTSDALE
DISTRICT 12:
STORE 19, DECATUR
STORE 48, MADISON
STORE 74, SHEFFIELD
STORE 149, FLORENCE
STORE 151, HUNTSVILLE
STORE 243, HARTSELLE
DISTRICT 13:
STORE 23, HUNTSVILLE
STORE 24, HUNTSVILLE
STORE 90, HUNTSVILLE
STORE 97, BROWNSBORO
STORE 129, ALBERTVILLE
DISTRICT 15:
STORE 9, LINCOLN
STORE 27, CHILDERSBURG
STORE 57, LINEVILLE