Dickinson Liquor Licenses | Video

Alex Hagan | 8/2/2012

The population growth in Dickinson also led to a boost in liquor sales. Of course, more drinking can lead to more bar fights. Dickinson has 16 liquor licenses, and city leaders say they need more of them.

When people have a lot of money to spend, and no place to spend it, they sometimes end up spending more time at a bar. And that`s exactly what`s happening in Dickinson.

"It`s constantly changing over and over. We get more, different people every day," said Pat Fisher, owner of The Rock.

Whether it`s on or off sale stores, owners have never seen traffic like this.

"It`s not even comparable, it`s up substantially. It`s doing really well, and I think it`s going to keep going," Fisher said.

As in supply and demand, city leaders say with the population growth, comes the need for more on and off sale licenses. So they`re looking for new locations.

"We believe we`ve passed the 18,000 mark and so the commission has said we will add an on and off sale license," said City Administrator Shawn Kessel.

Traffic in bars can lead to more violence and city leaders say providing more locations prevents confrontations.

"If it`s an on sale license that it will disperse those crowds a little bit more and maybe have an impact on bar fights or bar violence that inevitably comes with liquor," Kessel said.

Either way, liquor store owners are happy with the increase in traffic.

"The crowds are growing, I can`t complain. The crowds are great. We get a lot of really good people in here downtown, a great place to be," said bartender Tori Barnum.

Dickinson`s population will continue to grow, prompting the city to look for more ways to sell alcohol.

City leaders say they will auction off the liquor license to the highest bidder, which includes the new CashWise to be built on the west side of town.

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