Robbinsville – Ingles missed its target date of mid-January to start selling beer and wine at its Robbinsville store, but the process is underway, company and town officials said.
The next step in the process is a clean inspection by Graham County Building Inspector Jacob Nelms. At that point, Mayor Shaun Adams can proceed with the necessary paperwork for it to be forwarded for processing by the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
“Our representative … has spoken with the mayor and they are working with the building inspector to get the inspection done and the remaining approvals issued,” Ronald Freeman, chief financial officer at Ingles Markets, said in an email to The Graham Star.
“We have filed our application with the Town of Robbinsville and await further guidance from them with regard to compliance with their regulations and their timeline. We don’t know what that timeline will be, but we will be ready to react quickly once licenses are issued.”
Adams – who handles beer and wine applications at the local level, before they get forwarded to the state – said a Friday appointment with an Ingles representative was cancelled after the planned building inspection was delayed for COVID-19-related reasons.
“The county’s inspection is something Ingles must have before the ABC permit can be issued,” Adams told The Graham Star. “The county’s inspection is something Ingles must have before the ABC permit can be issued, so the lack of the inspection (that) is holding up Ingles getting the permit is nothing to do with the town.”
Robbinsville voters approved beer and wine sales in the November election, to take effect Jan. 1, 2022.