Some North Dallas retailers are upset that two stores are allowed to sell alcohol even though the area is dry.
A Tom Thumb grocery and a Walgreens drug store are able to sell beer and wine due to an outdated map and a land swap, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
The area, which is now in dry Dallas, was once part of wet Plano. The two cities swapped the land during the Bush Turnpike acquisition -- and that's when the mistake happened.
When the stores applied for their permit from the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission to sell beer and wine, both the city and county officials referred to a Collin County map that still listed the area as Plano.
The beer and wine permits issued to the stores are legal and valid for at least two years.
Other stores are saying that the permit to sell beer and wine gives their competition an unfair advantage, which, is probably true, though you likely wouldn't find too many residents objecting to the disparity. After all, most people are in favor of convenience even if it isn't fair.
So how does the city plan to make it right? They can either go to court to try to revoke the permits that were legally given to Walgreens and Tom Thumb or they can simply let the stores use the permits until they are up for renewal, and then not renew them ... removing all beer and wine sales from the area.
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I guess it'd just be silly for the city to let all stores sell wine and beer without geographic restriction.
NBC DFW's Kim Fischer contributed to this report.
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