Nearly a quarter of off-premise retailers in Santa Fe County are selling alcohol to "intoxicated" customers, according to a recent report.

The Santa Fe Retailing Project released its quarterly results last week showing that 10 out of 48 off-premise retailers surveyed in the county agreed to sell alcohol to a "pseudo intoxicant."

Of those 10 establishments, six are grocery stores and four are gas station/convenience stores.

In the project's first round of visits, 11 establishments agreed to sell alcohol to people who appeared to be drunk. But none of those agreed to sell in this round of visits.

The visits to liquor retailers were made on Jan. 30 and Feb. 5.

The Santa Fe Retailing Project aims to assist retailers in choosing best practices related to alcohol sales. It uses a "pseudo-intoxicated mystery shopper" to determine how well the retailer complies with the law. This is the third year the program has been conducted in the county. It will continue through fiscal year 2010. It is not affiliated with law enforcement.

If the clerk refuses to sell to the "pseudo intoxicant," the business receives a letter thanking it for upholding the law. If the clerk agrees to sell the product, the business receives a letter describing the incident and encouraging the business to provide additional employee training about alcohol sales laws.

The businesses that sold to the seemingly drunken buyer included:

• Allsup's No. 254, 4200 Airport Road
• Bhakta Cerrillos Road Shell, 2631 Cerrillos Road
• Eldorado Supermart, 7 Avenida Vista Grande
• Giant No. 6055 Food Store, 1009 St. Francis Drive
• Lowe's No. 89, 1700 St. Michael's Drive
• Quik Stop No. 5, 2829 Agua Fría St.
• Smith's No. 491, 2110 Pacheco St.
• Sunrise General Store, 52 Old Las Vegas Highway
• Trader Joe's, 530 W. Cordova Road
• Whole Foods Market, 753 Cerrillos Road.


The establishments that refused include:

• Albertsons stores at 600 North Guadalupe Street, 3542 Zafarano Drive and 3001 St. Francis Drive
• Alegria Liquors, 2797 Agua Fría St.
• Allsup's at 2007 Calle Lorca, 4680 Airport Road, 3000 Cerrillos Road, 650 Cerrillos Road, 1899 St. Michael's Drive and 2 Vista del Monte
• Andy's Liquorette, 838 Agua Fría St.
• Brewer gas stations at 7510 Airport Road, 4061 Cerrillos Road, 1010 St. Francis Drive, 711 St. Michael's Drive
• Cliff's Liquors, 903 Old Pecos Trail
• Cost Plus World Market, 550-560 Montezuma St.
• CVS pharmacies at 511 Cordova Road and 195 Paseo de Peralta
• De Arco Liquors, 3875 Cerrillos Road
• Giant stations at 3730 Cerrillos Road, 3730 Cerrillos Road, 2691 Sawmill Road, 1698 St. Michael's Drive and 4354 Cerrillos Road
• Kaune Foodtown, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail
• Liquid Company, 1901 St. Michael's Drive
• Liquor Barn, 2885 Cerrillos Road
• Owl's Liquor Store, 913 Hickox St.
• Rodeo Plaza Liquors, 2801 Rodeo Road
• Sam's Club, 4201 Rodeo Road
• Shell-Lone Butte General Store, 3815 N.M. 14
• Smith's, 2308 Cerrillos Road
• Sunflower Farmers Market, 199 Paseo de Peralta
• Susan's Fine Wine & Spirits, 1005 S. St. Francis Drive
• Walgreens Drug Stores at 1096 St. Francis Drive and 3298 Cerrillos Road