March 24, 2021 |
In Rawlins last week, Liquor License #99 was ultimately approved, but not before a lengthy and pointed public hearing in city council chambers.
The license is attached to Sunnyside Liquors, operated by Andrea, Troy and Devon Shepard. According to testimony and state documents, the Shepards allowed the license to remain inactive until two days before last summer’s July 4th, when they ordered more than $2,000 worth of liquor. They later admitted to city officials to drinking it themselves, though their attorney didn’t agree to this admission.
State documents, some of which were backdated by the state to be in order at the time of last week’s hearing, indicate a history of delinquent sales tax payments and other possible irregularities, though the relevance of these were also disputed by the Shepards’ attorney.
Cali O’Hare was at the public hearing and has since investigated the claims for this report.
Pictured above: Sunnyside Liquor is located inside this industrial building at 1111 Daley Street. According to its retail license application, Sunnyside Liquor is open Mondays through Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. Photo by Cali O’Hare/Bigfoot 99.
Click here to view the Sunnyside Liquor license application
The City of Rawlins is the licensing authority for all liquor licenses, and can only deny a license based upon five criteria outlined in municipal code Section 5.08.110, seen below. Title 5 in its entirety can be reviewed here: http://www.rawlins-wyoming.com
Related: 26 liquor licenses approved in Rawlins
