The Farmington City Council made a unique move July 28, denying the sale of an existing liquor license from Distil to the West Main Maverik.
Jake Foust, owner of Distil, made a deal with Maverik, Inc. to sell the convenience store his liquor license for $700,000, but the city of Farmington had concerns about the transaction.
“It has nothing to do with the sale of this license. It has nothing to do with the buyer,” City Manager Shana Reeves said, adding it was “related to a challenge that is not new, which is our street inebriates.”
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said the western side of the city has been a hot spot for crime and it “raised major red flags for us adding an additional liquor sale in an area where we are having crime, from an area where we are having no crime.”
Distil was located in the 5900 block of East Main Street, where calls for police service historically have been very limited.
Farmington Police Deputy Chief of Operations Nate Lacey told the council that he looks at statistical data of where crime is occurring to develop strategies that would address the criminal activity.
There are three hot spots within the city, and all three have convenience stores or grocery stores that sell alcohol within close proximity to one another.
The first area is on East 20th Street between North Dustin Avenue and North Butler Avenue, where Speedway, Smith’s Grocery and Walgreens all have liquor sales.
The second area is on Broadway, where there are two Speedways selling liquor directly across the street from one another.
The third area was Apache Y, where Apache Street intersects with West Main Street, “where we already have Allsups, we have a Speedway at that intersection and the Maverik is at the intersection,” Lacey said. “We have hotspots that bring us concern.”
Lacey shared the statistical data for the Apache Y.
The numbers showed that within a one-mile radius of Allsups, which opened Dec. 19, 2024, crimes against persons increased by nearly 42%, and crimes against society increased by nearly 65%.
The data also showed that calls for service since November 2025 where higher at the Allsups and the Speedway than at the Maverik, which does not sell alcohol.
“I think you saw the data; that’s what concerns us. We know where the challenges are in our community,” Hebbe said, adding that to move the liquor license to the west side of town “where we already see the crimes that we see — that is going to be another stacked load on the back of the PD.”
Hebbe pointed out that people on the west side of Farmington are “vulnerable to alcohol problems.”
San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari called it a “humanitarian issue” as well as an “economic issue.”
“The one thing to make drugs work are accessibility and acceptance. … We’ve accepted that the west side of town is where our inebriates go,” Ferrari said, adding with this comes the challenges of litter, individuals “defecating in parking lots” and even “barging in on funeral services” at Farmington Funeral Home, which his family operates.
Jake Foust, who owns the Distil liquor license, asked the city to evaluate the sale of his license under state law and to not set new standards, because of crime.
“I ask that you follow policy instead of trying to bend the rules and bring this situation to light,” Foust said, adding Maverik might provide 24-hour security or agree to lock up its liquor. “I think you can come to some sort of agreement. I’ll go down there and volunteer with the police department.”
Foust said the sale of the license is about his family’s livelihood.
“It is a very expensive asset,” he said.
He asked why the city didn’t oppose the liquor license for Allsups.
“Dumb luck for Jake. I think there is a way this can be solved,” Foust said.
Sarah Foust, his wife, said she was being “victimized” by the city.
“This is just a snapshot. It is not an overall picture,” she said of the police department’s statistics. “This license is in play in the city of Farmington, so no matter where it goes there will be alcohol sales and if it is what the officers are alluding to, crime will follow.”
Councilor Linda Rodgers said she and the council were “empathetic and sympathetic to your situation,” but the issue is the additional availability of liquor in that area is about “public safety and public health.”
“It is what we live every day. These areas of our community are already under significant strain because of alcohol issues,” Rodgers said. “Without a mitigation plan from Maverik, we are placing additional risks on our businesses and citizens.”
Maverik did not come to the table. The company’s representatives were not at the City Council meeting and have not spoken with the city about being a partner to combat crime.
“I am disappointed that Maverik did not show up,” Councilor Stewart Logan said.
Mayor Duckett added that the city is “in the process of addressing this issue in new ways” by making “a broadscale attempt to get these other liquor sellers to the table – tell them why we need their support.”
Rodgers moved to deny the transfer of the liquor license and Councilor Jeanine Bingham-Kelly seconded it. The denial was unanimously approved.
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