Colorado’s largest liquor store in legal row

Under investigation by the state liquor enforcement agents, DaveCo Liquors in Colorado may have to close following a possible violation of state law.

It is believed the same family that owns DaveCo also owns another liquor store in Highlands Ranch, which has given rise to allegations of “hidden ownership”. DaveCo has blasted the potential charges as “ridiculous”.

DaveCo started when two brothers emigrated from Jordan to start Davidson’s Liquor, which subsequently grew to become the largest liquor store in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

However, the state of Colorado said the family has made suspicious cash payments to suppliers and has accused DaveCo of illegally sharing purchases and contracts to save money, giving them an unfair advantage over other stores.

Laura Harris, director of liquor enforcement for the state of Colorado, said: “You can’t have an interest in more than one liquor store in this state. It becomes difficult when family members own more than one liquor store."

However, following these allegations, DaveCo’s lawyer, John Lonnquist said: "It’s a case of a bureaucracy trying to do its job. Based on what we’ve seen so far, they don’t have all the rules laid out so that people know what they are supposed to be doing."

DaveCo is confident it will be completely cleared of the charges, even though Harris states: “They’re very sophisticated, very savvy business people and I don’t buy into the fact that they didn’t know what they were doing."

If guilty, the state dictates the family will have to sell up or face losing their liquor licence.

Jane Parkinson, 18.01.10