A Franklin Town Council meeting got heated as the mayor and aldermen disagreed over what steps the town should take regarding the current lease on the ABC Store.

It’s been just over a year since the Cashiers ABC store opened its doors, but the store’s renting days are almost over. ABC Board chairman David Noland paid a visit to both the Jackson County and Sylva town commissioners last month, asking for their blessing on an owner-financed purchase deal.

Jackson County and the town of Sylva agreed this month to merge the entities’ separate Alcoholic Beverage Control boards. The deal means that Jackson and Sylva will share in the overall profits generated throughout the county, including those generated at the yet-to-open ABC store in Cashiers.

The attractive, even swanky new liquor store in Waynesville got off to a sluggish start the first two months after popping the cork on its new location, but it had posted slight gains by the month of December. 

Jackson County got a green light from the state to move forward with plans to build a liquor store in Cashiers, despite more than two dozen residents voicing opposition to the particular location that was chosen.

Come September, a brand new $1.3 million South Main Street liquor store will open in Waynesville.

A new Jackson County liquor store will soon be under construction in Cashiers, with plans to open for business by early next year.

Jackson County leaders are moving ahead with plans to open a liquor store in Cashiers, despite up to $200,000 in start-up costs that could take more than five years to recoup before seeing a profit.

Sylva and Jackson County are at an impasse on the creation of a single Alcoholic Beverage Control board to run the existing liquor store in Sylva and a new one proposed in Cashiers.

As Jackson County officials craft plans to open a liquor store in Cashiers, possibly as soon this summer, they must first determine whether the town of Sylva is in or out.