Sunset Liquors

Good wine and beer selection. A friend from Texas went with me and commented how surprisingly low the prices for liquor were. Drive thru was quick and friendly

Here’s another liquor store who doesn’t give a flying flip if u buy from them or not very rude people the beer is never in date

Summary — On the plus side I think this is an attractive building. However, this liquor store is smaller than the newer Macadoodles (838 N 48^th St, Springdale, AR 72 762) and doesn’t have as large of a selection. Also, unlike Macadoodles, Sunset does not have a humidor section (selection of cigars) and they’re more expensive on a lot of items (in my experience). That aside, I’m a lifelong resident of Springdale and it bothers me that for so many years we have been required to buy from the Springdale Liquor Association (SLA) if we wanted to buy beer or liquor in our own town.
The following Springdale liquor stores make up the SLA:
County Line Liquors
Last Chance Liquors
Sunset Liquors
Hi-​Way Liquors
Liquor Depot
«Y» Liquors
Fiesta Liquors
All of these liquor stores are owned by Harold Dean Hewitt/​SLA who has had a near monopoly on liquor sales in Springdale for decades. Why has the ABC allowed one entity to own so many liquor stores and where else in Arkansas can you find one example of this being allowed other than Springdale? NWA residents have been pondering this questions for decades and the Internet is full of theories and innuendo.
And while Cheers Liquor & Wine Shoppe Inc. of Springdale isn’t technically part of the SLA, it is also «in the family». Cheers is owned by Hewitt’s only child, daughter Merry Lee, and this and the seven SLA liquor stores are all run by Harold Dean’s son-​in-​law/​Merry Lee’s husband, Jim Phillips (President of the SLA). The SLA has been likened to a State of Arkansas sanctioned monopoly and this doesn’t sit well with a lot of folks. I wouldn’t normally list names in a review but it’s all a matter of public record, easily confirmed on the Internet, and reported countless times by local news sources.
Older Springdale residents probably remember Gage’s Liquor Store, at that time the only non Hewitt-​owned liquor store, and how Hewitt opened up a liquor store across the street because apparently he couldn’t stand to have even one competitor in the Springdale market. You can see the law suit on the Internet to this day.
Gage’s was at 2773 W Sunset Ave Springdale AR 72 762 (location was last used by Chuckles restaurant and was since torn down) and SLA’s store eventually opened across the street at 2682 W Sunset Ave, Springdale, AR 72 762 (now Little Caesars Pizza but the building is still owned by Hewitt).
Others remember the two UtoteM convenience stores opening in Springdale and then closing shortly thereafter because while they were approved by the ABC to sell beer, Hewitt rallied the churches and alderman against them via Springdale’s CIty Ordinance to keep the competition out. This same ordinance is why Sam’s Club left Springdale for Fayetteville. Since then Springdale has likely lost millions of sales tax revenue dollars generated by Sams’ and that’s money that could have gone for infrastructure improvements, parks, emergency responders, etc. Luckily beer sales are now allowed in Springdale outside of these liquor stores and Sam’s is coming back to Springdale in a different location.
All of this to say that if I can purchase liquor anywhere other than one of the Hewitt-​owned stores mentioned in this review I will because like others I believe this one family has held the monopoly in Springdale for far too long! Again, I go Macadoodles. It’s so nice to now have a non-​SLA option!