Euless May Move to Allow Sales of Liquor-To-Go

The city of Euless is considering some big changes to let stores start selling hard liquor to go.

The Euless City Council plans to set a special election next month to let voters decide whether to allow liquor sales. A committee collected petitions with nearly 4,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

One business with a unique story has been watching the debate closely.

It's called Bru City, and it's located right on the border of Euless and Fort Worth. There are dozens of local beers on tap, all inside a gas station convenience store.

The owner says Bru City is a first of its kind in Texas, but the business never would have happened if it weren't for some old-school liquor rules and complicated city boundaries.

You can fill up your tank, top off your glass and take a six-pack for the road all in one place at Bru City.

"I mean, 60 taps in a gas station is pretty impressive," said customer John Mercer.

Daniel Nguyen added, "I consider having a cold drink part of life, but part of the holiday, yes!"

But if you're looking for something harder, look again.

"When we went to the county they said, 'You cannot have a liquor store,'" said owner Niraj Shrestha.

The store is in Fort Worth, but Shrestha says the land was annexed in and the deed's still tied to Euless liquor rules.

"That's what I understood," Shrestha said. "That's the reason we couldn't have it."

So he needed a new business plan.

"We gotta do something different that nobody has done here before," said Shrestha.

With beer and wine his only options, Bru City was born – and it's doing great.

"It's right in between Dallas and Fort Worth so this place is changing, rapidly growing and changing," said Shrestha.

That's why some folks think the old liquor rules don't make sense. As the Mid-Cities grow and blend together, Euless is no isolated small town.

"Most people aren't aware as they're going down the same street that the rules may change from mile to mile," said customer Tony Anderson.

Mercer added, "You're just denying yourself the tax revenue."

And though brews are now his bread and butter, Shrestha knows his business could do even better with some hard liquor on the shelves.

"If you really get down to the numbers, it will make a lot of difference," Shrestha said.

Though many still hope it won't make a difference to the city's small-town roots.

"We gotta be responsible," Shrestha said. "As a retailer, we gotta be responsible and we take that very seriously."

NBC 5 is working with the city of Euless to find out how the change in liquor sales allowance would affect Bru City on its annexed land.