A buyer has been found for the permit for the now-closed Creighton liquor store - and the permit was bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The permit for the store itself was bid up several times in the final day of its availability, with more than 50 separate leading bids filed in the final hour - each bid increased the price by at least $100 per bid. The final bid filed in the auction was made by a bidder identified only as “Diamond306” - the winning bid was $601,000.
Despite the late flurry of activity, that dollar figure ended up being the third-lowest winning bid for any of the 34 former Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) stores available. Only the liquor permits for locations in Carlyle ($450,000) and Assiniboia ($550,200) were lower than Creighton.
The Creighton liquor store itself closed up operations earlier this month. The store’s closure means the only methods of purchasing liquor for Creighton residents would be off-sale purchases from the Hooter or from liquor stores in Flin Flon, including two off-sales and the Flin Flon Liquor Mart, which is owned and operated by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.
Back in November, the Saskatchewan government announced it would be closing all 34 SLGA stores throughout the province, including the one in Creighton, by March 31.
The buyer of the store’s liquor permit will be able to set up a liquor store anywhere in Creighton where they would be in compliance with local zoning bylaws, not just confined to the current liquor store space, located at Creighton Main Street and Fourth Avenue. Buildings used as SLGA liquor stores will be put up for sale for 19 of the 34 stores closing, including in Creighton, where the provincial body owns the store at Main Street and Fourth Street. That store will be auctioned off later this year.
