Central ND News

The City of Bismarck has announced the availability of three Class D Liquor Licenses, marking the first time since January 2023 that such licenses have been offered by the city. At that time, only one license was available through a sealed bid process.

Bids for the licenses must be submitted in a sealed format to the office of the City Administrator at 221 North Fifth Street, or mailed to PO Box 5503, before 3 p.m. on Monday, September 16. The bids will be opened at 4 p.m. that day in the Mayor’s Conference Room on the fourth floor of the City/County Building. The minimum bid for each license is set at $200,000. Licenses will be awarded to the highest qualified bidders.

Assistant City Administrator Doug Wiles commented on the appeal of this particular license type: “What makes the Class D License so valuable is the lack of restrictions,” explained Assistant City Administrator Doug Wiles. “With so many of our other liquor licenses, you may be limited to off-sale only, or perhaps only beer sales. Some licenses require a specific percentage of sales come from food. With a Class D license, you have the green light to sell as much alcohol as you can legally sell.”

Those interested in bidding are required to complete and submit a separate Class D Bid Form for each license they wish to pursue. Each form must include a bid security equal to 10% of the bid amount via certified check or money order payable to the City of Bismarck.

Applicants must comply with all stipulations found in City Ordinance Chapter 5-01 to be eligible for a license. The city retains discretion to reject any or all bids.

Further details are available by contacting Bismarck’s Administration Department at 701-355-1300 or visiting the official website.