Deschutes County applicants received five of seven new contracts to operate liquor stores handed out Thursday by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Three new locations are in Bend. Additionally, the OLCC selected one location each in Sisters and Terrebonne.

The OLCC fielded 22 applications to open new liquor stores in Central Oregon out of 31 applications from 14 counties in Central and Eastern Oregon.

In Bend, contracts were approved for Newport Avenue Market, 1121 NW Newport Ave.; Mid-Towne Liquor, Beer and Wine, 740 NE Third St.; and Trails End Liquor, 63450 N. U.S. Highway 97.

Assistant store manager Erika Maloley at Newport Avenue Market said store managers hoped to have a space dedicated to spirits open by Christmas.

“We will start immediately on the process of setting things up. It’s quite a bit of work,” she said Thursday. “We’ve been putting plans in motion.”

Mid-Towne Liquor would occupy a space in the shopping plaza anchored by Safeway between NE Franklin and NE Hawthorne avenues. The Trails End address is located at the Robal Road Retail Village project at the Robal Road and Highway 97 intersection.

Applicants made their presentations Thursday to the commission, whose members then conferred before awarding new contracts. The OLCC is in phase two of a plan to increase the number of liquor stores across the state to catch up with the state’s growing population. With the seven new contracts, the total number of contracts rises to 276 liquor stores statewide. Liquor stores are operated by private contractors.

In Terrebonne, Ferguson’s Market, 8150 N. U.S. Highway 97, was selected. The owners were unavailable for comment Thursday. Ray’s Food Place, 635 Arrowleaf Trail, was also picked for a liquor store. The store manager was unavailable for comment.

The OLCC makes a final review before signing off on the contracts. A 14-day public comment period is the next step in the process. Comments on individual locations may be submitted to OLCC.RetailServices@
oregon.gov or by mail to OLCC Retail Services, P.O. Box 22297, Milwaukie, OR 97269-2297.

The OLCC opened the application window in June and encouraged mixed-use business proposals, whether from convenience or sporting goods stores or grocery chains. Of the three new Bend locations, two would appear to be standalone liquor stores; the third is inside an existing grocery store. The Terrebonne and Sisters locations are also existing markets.

Elsewhere, the OLCC approved locations at the Irrigon Shell Station in Irrigon, Morrow County, and McIssac’s, a grocery store in Parkdale, Hood River County.

The push to open more liquor stores started in the Portland metro area in 2015. Phase four applications will be accepted between Dec. 1 and Feb. 15 from Coos, Curry, Douglas, Harney, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Malheur and Washington counties.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, 
jditzler@bendbulletin.com

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the site of the future Mid-Town Liquor store.