A case of Miller Light, a shelving unit and the ability to sell high-proof liquor was sold to Kroger for $628 by the BG Liquor Outlet.

The purchase agreement also included the transfer of all the outlet’s high-proof alcohol to Kroger.

The outlet will continue to sell alcohol below 21 percent alcohol content, as it still owns a permit.

The contract purchase was approved by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control on March 5 and Kroger was able to open a liquor store in the room near the pharmacy on March 11, said Jackie Siekmann, Kroger spokesperson.

To purchase the contract from BG Liquor Outlet, Kroger had to buy an asset from the store, which is why a shelving unit and case of beer were bought.

After Kroger and BG Liquor Outlet had signed the purchase agreement, the liquor control division still had to approve the contract, said Matt Mullins, public information officer for the division.

“Kroger met the criteria and there was nothing in the agreement that was inappropriate,” Mullins said. “Kroger is a good operator.”

Mullins said BG Liquor Outlet was a good operator as well.

Siekmann said the addition will make Kroger more of a one-stop shop.

“Customers have less time to get errands done,” she said. “Now they can get groceries, go to the pharmacy, get gas and now get liquor. It’s more convenient.”

As to why BG Liquor Outlet sold its contract, Manager Rocky Shaeena would not comment.

Ralph DeNune III, the outlet’s lawyer who signed the purchasing agreement, declined to comment on the reason for the sale as well.

Siekmann said the outlet was “just looking to get out of the liquor business.”

Initial rumors of Kroger obtaining the outlet’s contract surfaced in November 2012, when citizens voted that Kroger could obtain a spirituous liquor contract.

When asked in 2012 if the rumor was true, both Kroger and BG Liquor Outlet denied it. However, the two had already signed the purchasing contract in May of that year.

“There are a lot of steps that come after [the purchase] so we didn’t want to prematurely confirm something when it was not complete,” Siekmann said.

To be eligible to sell spirituous liquor, Kroger had to purchase an existing contract in the county, where five exist. Kroger could have applied for its own separate contract, but the liquor division was not looking to add a new carry-out store in the county, Mullins said.

Though Kroger was seen as a good fit to get the spirituous liquor contract from the division, some students see both the good and bad of the change.

“It’s good because Kroger is a bigger corporation, so they can have a bigger stock, but it’s not just a liquor store, so will it go through the effort to get a variety?” said senior Bratche Eldred.

Though he hasn’t been to Kroger’s new liquor store, he said BG Outlet is closer.

He is also unsure about the future of the outlet.

“I don’t know what they’ll do. They’re selling smokes and low-proof alcohol,” Eldred said, noting that the gas station across the parking lot sells essentially the same products.

BG Liquor Outlet is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Kroger’s liquor store is open Monday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Kroger sells its liquor at state minimum prices.