After finding a few tidbits about the new West Seattle Junction liquor store in a state news release early today (here’s our resulting story), we took a few followup questions to the Liquor Control Board. First answer: The opening date IS already set: August 31st. LCB spokesperson Brian Smith says it’ll be an overnight transition – the old store in The Junction will close at its usual time August 30th, and the new one will open the next day (8/31 is a Wednesday). He also confirms the new store at Capco Plaza (41st/Alaska) will be one of the 30 stores in an experimental liquor-tasting program – the only location they know for sure will be part of the experiment. (The program was mentioned in the earlier news release, so we asked.)

Last but not least, he says there will NOT be a third (contract) liquor store in the Admiral area – we had reported in December that they were advertising for proposals. According to Smith, “Unfortunately we were unable to find an arrangement that met our needs and those of a potential contract store manager. Contract store managers are paid on commission. There were difficulties finding the right Admiral-area location with lease costs that fit the contract store model. Some locations were also too close to schools.”