Move the downtown liquor store? Sure, employees say but not because of homeless customers.
The state liquor store downtown on 200 West and 400 South opens at 11 a.m., but a loose line starts forming outside the door 15 minutes before the doors are unlocked.
The early shoppers on a recent weekday morning are made up of two groups of people a haggard-looking crew with the cardboard signs they'll use later to panhandle hanging limply by their waists and a small crowd of tourists in town for a work conference.
As the groups stream inside, security guard Melonie Thompson greets the regulars by name and with a smile. They already know what they're looking for, and some walk out with purchases of vodka (the store's top seller, according to the assistant manager) in their pockets and backpacks by 11:01 a.m.
During a given weekday, the clientele makes a noticeable shift. Around 5 p.m., people in casual and business-casual dress stop in on their way home from work. Business is brisk, and the small parking lot is crammed.
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