The owners of Kaune Foodtown plan to open another market in Rancho Viejo next year, and a full liquor license application for the store is pending.

The 10,000-square-foot store, which doesn't have a name yet, will be located on Rancho Viejo Boulevard and specialize in prepared foods, said Rick Hale, vice president of operations for Kaune Foodtown.

"It will be completely different from the downtown store and unique to the southwest," Hale said. "But the concept is top secret. You'll just have to come and see.

Kurt Sommer and Cheryl Pick Sommer, who own Kaune Foodtown, are the owners of the planned south side store, Hale said. Construction on the store hasn't begun yet, he said.

A liquor-license application from Pinot Nior, a company operated by the Sommers, is pending before the state, said Bob Hagan, spokesman for the state Regulation & Licensing Department, which includes the state Alcohol & Gaming Division.

The company is buying the liquor license from Albertsons for a reported price of $340,000, Hagan said. The liquor license would allow the company to sell beer, wine and hard liquor.

The division held a preliminary hearing on the application in August, but found that the company had to provide the state with more information, Hagan said.

Until the company provides the state with the information, the state cannot provide the company with the preliminary approval needed to hold a public hearing on whether the state should approve the liquor-license application, Hagan said.

Albertsons officials decided to sell the liquor license after they scrapped plans to build another Albertsons store on Airport Road, Hagan said.

Contact Wendy Brown at 986-3072 or wbrown@sfnewmexican.com.