Walgreens is planning to make its return to Nebraska City with liquor on its shelves.
Walgreens, which was located in 1975 at the current location of the Nebraska City News-Press, 823 Central Ave.,is applying for a license to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits.
The new store at 502 S. 11th St. is one of 50 in Nebraska that Walgreens is seeking a liquor license for.
Walgreens, a national drugstore chain, sold alcohol in the 1990s, but pulled it from shelves.
Diane Riibe, executive director of Omaha-based Project Extra Mile, said the company’s renewed focus on alcohol sales conflicts with its long-standing mission to promote health, safety and wellness.
She said the drug store was first to put its prescriptions in child-proof containers.
“Today, we ask Walgreens to uphold the same standards and withdraw from seeking liquor licenses,” she said.
“In a time when Nebraska has experienced an approximately 25 percent increase in liquor licenses since 2002, additional licenses, particularly of this magnitude, are not in the best interest for Nebraska’s families and youth,” she said.
Nebraska City, Neb. —
