A powerful thirst in Coeur d'Alene

COEUR d'ALENE - In term of bars buying booze from the state, three downtown Coeur d'Alene watering holes are cracking Idaho's top five halfway through fiscal year 2010.

Not too surprising, since the same three locales having been hovering in Idaho's top 10 for several years.

Number one so far on the Idaho State Liquor Division's list of top liquor bottle buyers is the Iron Horse bar and grill on Sherman Avenue.

Down the street is the third-place finisher, The Coeur d'Alene Resort, while the Sherman Avenue hangout the Beacon pub and former Brix restaurant, currently the Icon, is fifth.

"We used to be No. 1 a while ago until we dropped down to No. 4 or so, but now we're back up there," said Janel Hawe, six-year Iron Horse waitress, not surprised by the ranking given the amount of patrons she sees.

"During the summer it's busy every day," she said.

The bar has bought 9,604 bottles from the Idaho State Liquor Division from July through December, spending $161,334 for the top spot.

The fiscal year runs July through June.

The Resort bought more bottles, 10,091, but spent $142,883, and Brix and Beacon spent $105,096 on 6,588 bottles.

The ranking doesn't necessarily mean they're the top sellers, or the busiest bars, but it can be a pretty good indicator, said Tony Faraca, chief financial officer for the liquor division.

"As far as we're concerned when we see a bar is buying a lot of liquor, we assume they're selling a lot as well," he said. "They're probably doing good business."

Another indicator is how the same establishments re-appear on the list year after year, he said.

Coeur d'Alene's trio has hovered near the top for a few years now.

In 2007, The Resort was second and the Iron Horse third, paying out around $300,000 each.

In 2008, The Resort was first, the Iron Horse fourth, and in 2009 The Resort was third and the Iron Horse fourth.

Brix finished 12th each of those three years.

"We're not getting too crazy with it," said Jerry Goggin, owner of Beacon and Icon. "You kind of 'guesstimate' how you're doing by looking at how much you buy."

"But is it good for Coeur d'Alene?" he said. "Sure, it's generating sales tax."

In fact, liquor was at least one industry that isn't running in the red during the recession.

Sales across the state increased 3.3 percent to $135.1 million in 2009, while profits increased $1.1 million to $46.2 million, according to the liquor division's annual report.

Portions of those monies are eventually distributed back to cities and counties depending on how much they generated.

Coeur d'Alene represented 6.6 percent of all statewide sales in 2009, netting $965,000 in return funds, while Kootenai County and its municipalities took in $3.9 million, according to Faraca.

The bottles exceed 16 percent alcohol by volume, and must be purchased from any of the 167 state stores.

North Idaho could see more return cash by the way 2010 is shaping up, Faraca said, as Coeur d'Alene is purchasing more liquor, while Boise bars are buying less.

"North Idaho is doing pretty brisk business, certainly compared to Boise," he said.

So far in fiscal year 2010, four Boise bars are in the top 10, including second-place finisher China Blue/Dirty Little Roddy's - $10,000 behind the Iron Horse.

Last year Boise had six of the top 11.

So why the rise? Does Coeur d'Alene like to drink?

Perhaps tourism and cocktails go hand-in-hand, Faraca said, especially considering the vacationers the area sees from north of the Canadian border.

"North Idaho is actually the strongest part of the state right now," he said. "And there's something driving that."

Coeur d'Alene's Kenny Brown said it's the lake and downtown's cool vibe that draws in the people and sits them on the barstool.

"It's just a cool little spot," Brown said, hanging out at the Iron Horse on Friday afternoon. "Especially in the summer, you have 200 bikes right here piled up and pretty girls walking by and the lake is right there."

But that "vibe" isn't just for tourists, he said, as downtown is an easy strip for locals to stop by, without having to worry about traffic. And the three big Coeur d'Alene buyers are all easy walking distance from one another.

"You get a lot of locals that come down here," he said. "It's really easy access."

Still, just as in any business, the name of the game is what you sell, not what you buy, Goggin said.

Cocktails overly poured, and two-for-one drink specials might skew some of those numbers comparing what a bar buys and what a bar sells, he said.

And because Coeur d'Alene has fewer liquor-serving bars compared to Boise (cities are allowed one liquor license per 1,500 residents), the Lake City's dividing up the patrons less competitively than the capitol, he said.

Still, "People come here because it's a destination."

"We have a lot of great venues," he said. "You can't take away from our venues."

The Corner Bar, 1628 N. Fourth, is the only other Coeur d'Alene bar in the current fiscal year in the top 25, placing 23rd by spending $60,772 for 4,793 bottles. It has been around the top 25 the previous three years, along with the Torch Lounge.