The Kiester Municipal Liquor Store is shown in this submitted photo. The Kiester City Council voted to close the store and it was shut down this past week. It is now for sale.

The Kiester Municipal Liquor Store sold its last ounce of liquor after closing on Monday, March 31.

The city of Kiester is selling the property, buildings and all fixtures, the shelving and other related items currently located within the building along with the remaining inventory of the Kiester Municipal Liquor Store, consisting of an assortment of liquor products and related items.

It is the desire of the city, according to their website, to sell the current inventory and building with equipment to a single buyer who is able to obtain a license to sell alcohol issued by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, or similar license. Asking price is $75,000.

The official decision to close the liquor store was made at a special Kiester City Council meeting held on March 24. Following a public hearing in which no public comment was made, a unanimous vote sealed the fate of the establishment.

A recently released report by Minnesota State Auditor, Julie Blaha, showed that in 2023, which is the most recent year where data has been compiled, Minnesota’s municipal liquor operations saw significant growth, with total net profits showing a 15.3 percent increase over 2022.

Such was not the case in Kiester.

In 2023, Kiester was one of 31 cities reporting net losses. Of these, 28 were in Greater Minnesota.

Due to net losses in at least two of the past three years, Kiester was one of 14 cities required to hold a public hearing. Ten of those 14 cities were also required to hold hearings in 2023.

The Kiester Municipal Liquor Store reported a net loss of $7,036 in 2023, while Elmore’s Municipal Liquor Store, which is already closed, had a loss of $2,693 even though they had the lowest operating expense in the state.

The largest loss was by the city of Anoka’s liquor store which lost $342,976.

Faribault County’s other two municipal liquor stores, located in Blue Earth and Wells, each reported net profits for the same time period. Blue Earth’s Municipal Liquor Store showed a net profit of $100,605 while the store in Wells had a profit of $4,555.

Kiester’s sales totaled $199,274 for 2023 while their gross profit was $54,292. Elmore’s sales totaled $123,730 and their gross profit was $35,298.

Ranked by gross sales, Blue Earth ranked 72nd in the state, Wells was 92nd, Kiester was 173rd and Elmore was 175th out of a total of 176 municipal liquor stores.

When it comes to net profit/loss as a percent of sales, out of the 176 liquor stores in the report, Blue Earth ranked 89th, Wells was 141st, Elmore was 158th and Kiester was 160th.

Net profits generated from municipal liquor stores can be used to reduce property tax levies and purchase equipment, such as police cars, fire trucks or any other expenditures cities are authorized to make.

Executive director of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association, Paul Kaspszak, offered his thoughts on the findings in the report.

“This report marks the onset of a shift in consumer preferences – beer and wine sales began to decline, while spirit sales remained steady,” Kaspszak said. “Meanwhile, THC beverage and edible sales were beginning to grow significantly, resulting in increased operational profitability.”