Ben Weagraff from Kenai River Brewing Company works the beer garden at Soldotna Creek Park during the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Ben Weagraff from Kenai River Brewing Company works the beer garden at Soldotna Creek Park during the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

State board OKs Soldotna request for more restaurant alcohol licenses

Twenty more restaurants in Soldotna will be able to serve alcohol following state approval in April of a city petition.

The approval, handed down by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on April 16, quadruples the number of licenses available to Soldotna businesses and was made possible by changes to Alaska’s alcohol laws that went into effect this year.

A business that holds a restaurant or eating place license is authorized to sell brewed beverages and wine to patrons. The business can also serve food and nonalcoholic beverages to patrons under 21 on its premises. There are currently six restaurants or eating places in Soldotna that are licensed to sell alcohol.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The new state laws say a first-class city, such as Soldotna, may petition the board for one or more licenses via resolution approved by its legislative body. The board may issue those licenses if it finds that doing so is in the public interest and if the municipality meets four criteria.

The municipality must serve as a center for commercial activities both in and out of its boundaries and maintain a local law enforcement department. It must also exercise planning or land-use authority and have already met or exceeded its existing license limit.

The resolution submitted to the board must also provide demographic information about the petitioning municipality and demonstrate the public interest in granting more licenses. Soldotna’s resolution also says the additional licenses will stimulate economic growth, enhance local tourism opportunities and more closely align with population ratios.

Between 2018 and 2022, the resolution says, almost 1.5 million people visited Soldotna, including more than 330,000 people in 2022. That’s as compared to its year-round population of about 4,300 people. Soldotna also provides goods and services to residents in Sterling, Funny River, Kenai, Kasilof and Ridgeway, the resolution says.

“Soldotna serves as a vital regional hub for the Kenai Peninsula and attracts a large number of residents, visitors, and tourists,” the resolution says. “Soldotna’s location along the Sterling Highway, plays a central role in connecting the various peninsula communities.”

Soldotna City Manager Janette Bower wrote in an April 24 report that the city will work with the board to implement a process to issue the new licenses.

Bower said via email Wednesday that the city has received “several inquiries” about the opportunity to secure a license but said she wouldn’t characterize it as a demand. The new licenses, she said, may also incentivize business to move to Soldotna and support planned redevelopment along the Kenai River.

“We simply wanted to extend the opportunity to our existing businesses should they choose to take advantage of this opportunity,” Bower said.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Former school district custodian pleads guilty to sexual abuse of a minor

Alexander Coxwell was arrested in September on allegations that he had engaged in an illegal sexual relationship with a then-14-year-old student.

Dick Hawkins speaks during a community meeting about the proposed Ninilchik Recreation Service Area at the Ninilchik Community Center in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Ninilchik residents consider creation of service area to fund pool

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Aug. 5 will consider an ordinance that would create the service area if it is approved by voters.

The KBBI AM 890 station is located on Kachemak Way in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Peninsula radio reacts to loss of federal funding

Congress last week approved President Trump’s rescission request, zeroing out all federal funding for public broadcasting, effective Oct. 1.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club in Moose Pass, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Insurance authorization bill sponsored by Bjorkman, Ruffidge becomes law

The bill requires insurance companies and health care providers to meet new deadlines for authorizing requests for care.

A map of the Johnson Tract Mine exploration project. Photo courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity
Inletkeeper, partners file lawsuit against Cook Inlet gold mine

The Johnson Tract Mine is located on CIRI-owned lands inside Lake Clark National Park.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in