By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Alcohol Tobacco Commission approved a renewal and a permit transfer for two local stores during a virtual meeting on Thursday, March 4.

Lisa McKinney, an attorney with Bose McKinney and Evans LLP, Indianapolis; and Scott Bennett, Warsaw Walmart store manager, were present for a permit renewal for Walmart, 2501 Walton Blvd.

The store had a violation in October 2020. In that violation, an employee did not check someone’s identification, resulting in the sale of alcohol to an underage person. According to McKinney, the employee was reprimanded and the store had to pay a $1,000 fine. However, the employee is no longer working at the store.

McKinney said as soon as the violation occurred, the store’s staff were immediately retrained on handling alcohol sales.

A permit transfer for the Village Pantry location at 400 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw, was also approved. Harkirat Garcha, president of Garcha G. Mart Inc., was at the meeting. Garcha said he purchased the convenience store and gas station in the fall.

An orange sign informing the public of the transfer has been posted in the business’s window since September 2020.

The board’s next meeting will be held virtually at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 1.