Statewide distribution problem may limit alcohol sales during Fourth of July weekend

State workers are scrambling to fix a distribution problem that has crimped the flow of alcohol to customers across the state, as liquor stores and restaurants are gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year.

"For us, the timing is really brutal," said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Restaurant Association, who said some restaurants have been unable to get key ingredients for their most popular cocktails. "For a small-margin industry like ours, where every sale counts, that's an issue."

Dozens of "temporarily out of stock" signs dot the shelves of some state liquor stores, and store managers say they're not sure when their complete product line will again be available.

State officials blame the difficulties on a glitch in a new software system that controls the movement of 18,000 cases of liquor a day through the state's distribution center on East Marginal Way South in Seattle.

"We're seeing significant improvements, but we're physically not able to keep up with the volume of the orders," said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the state Liquor Control Board.

Smith said shortly after the problem was detected June 8, the distribution center was filling only 65 to 70 percent of the orders it was receiving. By Monday, the rate was up to more than 80 percent, he said.

The computer program, from Atlanta-based CDC Software, is the key to successful operation of a highly automated system in which cases of liquor are moved from shelves and sent along conveyors in time to be placed in trucks serving all 161 state-run and 154 contract liquor stores in the state.

Smith said the software problem has been corrected, but the system is still dealing with a backlog of orders, while trying to meet the increased demand that comes with the Fourth of July holiday.

State workers have put in more than 2,200 hours of overtime, and six temporary "hub" distribution sites have been set up to ensure that customers, including restaurants, have access to at least the highest-demand beverages.

But Pete Hanning, an owner of the Red Door in Fremont, said restaurants count on getting not just the most common liquors, but ones they can feature in specialty cocktails. For two weeks, he said, he was unable to offer a popular summertime sipper — a lemonade drink he makes with pear-flavored Absolut vodka. The Red Door has a large outdoor deck and depends on heavy summer traffic, Hanning said.

"The worst part is each week I'm not sure what's going to be on my load and what products I'm going to be out of. It creates a lot of undue stress," he said.

He prints the beverage cards for the restaurant once a month and faces the prospect of continually revising them or having his waiters tell customers what they can't order.

Hanning said the pinch is compounded by the fact that a state alcohol surcharge takes effect Aug. 1, which will force bar owners to increase prices.

The surcharge, which will add between $1 and $3 to the price of most bottles of booze, was enacted to raise about $80 million to replace money legislators took from a liquor-reserve fund to balance the state budget.

In addition, the liquor board has been asked to raise its contribution to government coffers by $16 million over the next two years, a move that will include expanding the number of stores and having stores stay open on most holidays.

Saturday will mark the first holiday that all state-run liquor stores will be open. Contract liquor stores, which typically serve smaller communities, are also expected to be open, but that decision is made by the individual operators.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com