Anchorage Assembly blocks Fred Meyer liquor renewals over unpaid taxes

The Anchorage Municipal Assembly voted July 7 to conditionally protest renewal of four Fred Meyer package store licenses, citing outstanding municipal taxes as the basis for holding state processing until the debt is cleared.

The action applied only to the four Fred Meyer licenses listed in the resolution. The same memorandum included many other 2026-2027 alcohol-license renewals with no taxes owing; approval of that memorandum waived the Assembly's right to protest those applications. July 7 was the last scheduled regular Assembly meeting before the protest period expires, making it the only opportunity to act before the deadline.

The four affected locations are Fred Meyer Muldoon at 7701 Debarr Road, Fred Meyer Dimond at 2000 W. Dimond Blvd., Fred Meyer Abbott Road at 2300 Abbott Rd., and Fred Meyer Eagle River at 13401 Old Glenn Hwy. Police, fire, health, and land-use certifications for all four have been satisfied. Unpaid taxes are the sole condition blocking renewal.

Assembly Chair Anna Brawley stated the basis plainly: "Taxes are owed to the Municipality of Anchorage."

Once Fred Meyer pays in full, the Municipal Clerk is authorized to lift the protest and notify the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board without a second Assembly vote. Under the resolution, a copy may be presented to the board to allow the director to hold processing of the four licenses under local protest until the Municipal Clerk confirms the condition has been met. The protest deadline is July 11.

The Fred Meyer action was not the only tax-related protest before the Assembly that evening. A separate resolution entered a conditional protest against the restaurant and eating place license renewal for Stalk Steakhouse in Eagle River, also citing taxes owed to the Municipality of Anchorage, as part of the same licensing cluster considered at the July 7 meeting.