Private liquor sales got off to a brisk start Friday in Renton, with security much in evidence at some stores.

The Renton Reporter checked eight retail outlets Friday, Fred Meyer at the Renton Center; the Saar’s Market, RiteAid and the former state-run store on Sunset Boulevard; Albertsons farther out on Sunset, and finally QFC, Safeway and a former contract store on Northeast Fourth Street.

Fred Meyer was doing brisk business much of the day, with security keeping a close eye on buyers. Each liquor bottle had a bottle lock on the cap, which only a clerk can remove. Apparently, short of breaking the bottle, it’s impossible to remove the lock without that key

Other outlets had similar bottle locks on some of their liquor bottles and it’s possible that lock, if still on the bottle, could set off a security alarm if it’s taken from a store.

Fred Meyer, according to a store employee, was taking security seriously, even to the point of watching whether cash was exchanged in the liquor aisle – perhaps a minor giving an adult the money to buy the liquor. In such cases both customers have to produce identification at checkout.

But, beyond security, the biggest question customers had was how much is the state liquor taxes going to add to the posted price of the liquor on the shelves?

The answer is: 20.5 percent in sales tax and a $3.77 per-liter tax. Most outlets spelled out the extra costs in clearly displayed explanations, if not on the actual price tag.

Bret Ewing was checking out the new display of liquor at the QFC store on Northeast Fourth Street. There was a sense of camaraderie among a small group of shoppers eyeing the display, talking about prices and what’s available.

“I think it’s about time,” Ewing said the private liquor sales, made possible by the voter-approved Initiative 1183. He said the prices seemed “all over the place.”

There’s been some belief expressed that private sales will mean higher prices.

The liquor displays don’t take up much more than an aisle or half-aisle, as a general observation. Typically, the liquor is with the beer and wine. At Fred Meyer, you can turn around and buy chips.

The selection is smaller than what was found in the state-run stores, which closed for good on Wednesday.

Thursday, the manager of the state-run store at Renton Center, Bob Fazio, was doing an inventory of stock and packing it up for return to the Washington State Liquor Control Board distribution center in Seattle. The right to apply for a liquor license at the store was purchased for $270,000 by an Indiana man.

However, as is the case with other state-run stores, this store, one of the busiest in Western Washington, will have to move elsewhere. The owner is looking at possible locations nearby, possibly still on Rainier Avenue.Fazio explained that Fred Meyer did not give the new owner a lease for the space.

Fazio saw holiday-like sales on Wednesday.

“It was Christmas in May,” he said.

Roger Brown, the manager of the former state-run store on Sunset, said his business was brisk on Monday, his store’s last day.

The Highlands store will reopen as soon as possible, he said, under new ownership.

Both men say they likely will remain working for the new owners of their stores.

Brown’s liquor store is sandwiched between Saar’s Market and the nearby RiteAid, both of which have about an aisle’s worth of liquor. He said his store has a lot “of loyal customers.”

Then there’s Tara Thomas, who has operated 4th Street Wine and Spirits, one of 142 contract stores in the state, for about 10 months.

Friday, business was brisk, too, as customers lined up at the register. “Our people are coming back,” she said.