New Private Clubs Slurp Up Market
by March 12, 2007 12:00 am 73 views
Benton County may be dry, but there’s no shortage of watering holes.
Rogers collected $309,467 from its 5 percent alcoholic beverage tax in 2006, up 7.4 percent from $286,607 in 2005 thanks to the opening of 12 new private clubs.
Rogers had $6.19 million in total alcohol sales in 2006, up 7.4 percent from $5.73 million a year earlier.
The new private clubs substantially ate into the 2005 top 10 market share. The top 10 clubs in 2005 accounted for 69 percent of the alcohol tax revenue. The top 10 in 2006 remained the same but accounted for 60 percent of total tax revenue.
Copeland’s led the 44 private clubs in Rogers with $578,520 in revenue, down from $703,260 in 2005. Abuelo’s was next at $549,580 in total alcohol sales followed by Bayou of Rogers ($402,440) and Oscar’s Steakhouse ($401,020).
The top newcomer was Bonefish Grill, open for the last five months of the year, coming in at 14th overall with $193,180 in alcohol sales.
Bonefish was followed by Carrabba’s Italian Grill ($112,160) and Gator’s Sports Grill ($95,760).
Bonefish and Carrabba’s opened in August. Gator’s opened in July.
Three restaurants with private club permits, Eat This!, The Beach and Palms Pizza, closed in 2006.