BY DEBBIE PAGE
debbiepage.iredellfreenews@gmail.com
The Troutman ABC store finished another record-breaking fiscal year on June 30, reaching $3.4 million in sales and surpassing FY2021-22 budget projections by just over $1 million.
The success of the first Troutman store, which opened in December of 2016, has the Troutman ABC Board already planning for a second site, possibly in the next year.
After recently paying $270,000 in cash for property just south of the southern Flower House Loop entrance to Highway 21, the store has already accumulated $453,341 in working capital savings for the second store, for which Chairman Layton Getsinger hopes they can pay cash.
The board will build its working capital fund to the $490,812 maximum allowed by the state ABC Board and then will rebuild its Specific Capital Project Fund, authorized by the Troutman Town Council in 2021 and used to purchase the property, to continue saving for the new store.
The board will start planning for the new location to serve the area just south of Exit 42 in January after assessing current economic conditions. Groundbreaking could occur during the next fiscal year.
FINANCIALS
After taxes were deducted, the store had just under $3 million in income during the last fiscal year, with a gross profit of $718,000 after product costs were deducted. Expenses for payroll, insurance, mandatory distributions, and store operations totaled $467,000, leaving $250,955 in net income for the year.
The store distributed $15,279 to law enforcement, $21,390 to the Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell for alcohol education, and $86,638 to the town. The town keeps half ($43,319) in its coffers and gives $10,829 each to its four designated community recipients — ESC Park, Troutman Parks and Recreation, Troutman Friends of the Library, and Troutman area county schools (divided among TES, TMS, CATS, SIHS).
The ABC Board owes just over $500,000 on its building loan, which includes a 2020 expansion that nearly doubled the facility’s size and alleviated the cramped warehouse area.
The store will undergo its state-mandated annual audit on July 28-29, with results expected in late August.
In June, the board also approved a $40 delivery fee for mixed beverage customers who opt not to pick up their orders.
2022-2023 BUDGET FORECAST
For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Getsinger is projecting a conservative $2.8 million in total sales, allowing for a possible economic downturn as well as more people returning to mixed drink sales in bars and restaurants as COVID-19 pandemic concerns ease.
Operating expenses are forecast at nearly $381,000, with $55,576 toward debt service on the store construction loan, and $1,471,446 for liquor and other products.
The 2022-23 budget also projects $9,000 in law enforcement distributions, $25,000 to DACI for alcohol education, and $95,000 to the Town of Troutman (50 percent) and its four designated entities (12.5 percent each).