All is well at Central and Northern New York’s Circle K convenience stores: The beer aisles, coolers and “caves” have been restocked after a nearly three-month dry spell.
On Feb. 1, at least 40 Circle K stores in the region lost their ability to sell beer after what the company called an “administrative error.” The problem led to the expiration of their New York state liquor licenses on Jan. 31. They liquidated their supplies that weekend.
The State Liquor Authority now shows most of those stores had their licenses restored effective April 15. The new licenses expire Jan. 31, 2024.
The beer has been returning this weekend.
At the Circle K at 535 E. Genesee St. in Fayetteville, for example, cases of beers like Busch Light and Labatt’s Blue were piled high Saturday on the sales floor, and the coolers were packed, too.
“We are excited that the administrative issues have been resolved – we will be able to begin selling product soon,” Circle K spokesman Brian Ridgeway wrote in an email to syracuse.com last week, before the restocking began.
Ridgeway did not specify the administrative issue. Most of the stores in question had been changed from the Nice N Easy brand to Circle K within the last few years.
CST Brands of San Antonio purchased the stores in Central and Northern New York in 2014, shortly after the death of Nice N Easy founder John MacDougall. A division called CST New York LLC operated them for several years under the Nice n Easy name. They were later rebranded as Circle K stores.
Many of the new licenses issued to CST New York LLC last week still have Nice N Easy listed under the trade name.
The Circle K brand is owned by the Canadian company Couche-Tard, which also has stores under the Holiday and Corner Store names. It operates about 7,100 stores in 47 different states.
The Central New York stores are part of its Great Lakes Region.
The loss of the licenses in late January came to light when the local stores began offering deep discounts on their beer to clear the inventory in stock. That prompted customers to line up and haul away bargain 6-packs and cases. The deal ended at midnight Jan. 31.
The Circle K brand nationwide touts its selection of national brands, imports and craft beers, especially at the stores where it has created room for what it calls its “Beer Kaves.”
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
April 26, 2021 at 03:05AM
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Back to normal at the Circle K: Beer returns to Upstate New York stores - syracuse.com
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