The Town of Tryon is currently considering purchasing the building that houses the ABC Store and Nana’s Kitchen.

Tryon Town Council met Thursday, Feb. 19 and first heard of the proposal. Council met again for a budget work session on Saturday, Feb. 21 and discussed the proposal in more detail.

ABC Store board member Dennis Durham said the building was offered to the ABC Store, which currently pays $1,000 month in rent. A 30-year owner financed mortgage would be $1,100 a month with opportunity to receive income from the two other buildings, one occupied by Nana’s Kitchen and another vacant store.

Durham said economically it’s a no brainer but the problem is the state does not allow an ABC store to make any income other than from the sale of liquor. So the ABC Store asked the town if they were interested in the same purchase because the town can receive income from rent.

“From an ABC store perspective and the board this was just a no brainer,” Durham told council on Saturday. “Because the amount of rent we’re having to pay is a big chunk of our budget.”

The owner has offered the ABC store or town the building for $250,000. According to Durham, the building was purchased for $292,000 and the tax appraisal is approximately $278,000.

Tryon Commissioner George Baker said economically he doesn’t see a better deal on the horizon.

“If you can pay the mortgage with the ABC store’s rent, I don’t see how you can go wrong,” said Baker. “The question is does the town want to be in the rental business.”

Baker and others said the town already is in the real estate business as it rents out town hall space currently.

Tryon Mayor Jim Wright asked what if the ABC store fails.

Baker responded the town could sell the building and support the mortgage while it did sell because the town would have at least one tenant left with Nana’s Kitchen.

“Somebody’s going to buy that building and somebody’s going to charge rent,” Baker said.

Commissioner Roy Miller said he is neutral on the situation until the town gets an inspection and appraisal on the building and estimates for any needed repairs.

Commissioner Happy McLeod was the only commissioner who said she will not vote to purchase the building, saying it’s not the town’s place to be in the real estate business.

But George Baker said one of the reasons he is in favor is the ABC store owes the town $10,000 from borrowing it years ago and this is one way to get the town’s money back.

McLeod asked about the option of moving the store to another location. Baker said the store has another year on the lease so either way the store has to stay for that long. He said someone else could purchase the building and increase the rent to the $1,200 that is in the current lease. The ABC store was shut down for some time and in order to reopen the landlord agreed to lower the rent to $1,000 per month.

Commissioner Bill Ingham said when he was on the ABC store board members did look for other locations.

McLeod said council caught a lot of grief for bailing out the ABC store years ago and purchasing the building could open a lot of doors. She said she doesn’t know if it will cause a strain on employees or possible maintenance on the building.

“I agree with everything you say,” Baker said to McLeod. “It just makes economical sense.”

Miller said his concerns are if the ABC sales drop and they can’t pay rent and if Nana’s Kitchen one day says it doesn’t want to be in the restaurant business anymore. He also said there’s a middle building that has been unrented for years.

Ingham said if those things happened the town could lower the rents to $750 per store to make sure they are rented and still come out double what the mortgage is.

Miller said he knows the town has other needs that are pressing.

“What I’m suggesting is not taking everything else off the table that we know are pressing (needs),” Miller said.

Ingham responded, “we put $7,000 in Christmas lights. We’re talking about a $2,000 appraisal.”

Miller said the town has a maintenance shed it cannot seem to agree on because town officials keep saying it doesn’t want to be in the real estate business.

Miller said during the budget work session the ABC store was the first thing presented and he thinks the town needs to look at other needs, such as equipment before deciding to purchase a building.

“If I thought it was going to cost us money I wouldn’t be bringing it up,” Ingham said. “I wish he’d make me the same offer.”

Durham said from his understanding there is another potential buyer other than the town. He said the reason the ABC store board was going to consider the purchase is because it was going to cost no money with a potential $3,000 per month rent.

“I’m not trying to sell the building,” Durham said. “I’m trying to find a home for the ABC store that we can afford.”

Durham said at last Thursday’s council meeting that other locations have been looked at and board members have decided the current location is the best location. He said the proximity of IGA and parking is good for customers and the employees also feel safe there. Durham also said since the ABC store at the state line closed Tryon’s business has really picked up and sales continue to improve.

Council came to a consensus to direct the town manager to move forward with an inspection and appraisal of the building.