The Warrenton Board of Aldermen has granted a two-month extension for retail liquor licenses across the city.

The move was in response to a similar decision from state regulators. Warrenton City Administrator Terri Thorn said the state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control also granted a two-month extension, “to avoid people having to move around to get their liquor licenses renewed.”

Retail liquor licenses in Warrenton normally expire at the end of June, Thorn said. She asked aldermen to extend all existing licenses to the end of August.

“I think it’s a good move, considering it will probably be hard to get a lot of them to get their stuff lined up, especially being closed down,” said Ward 1 Alderman Mike Shilharvey.

Aldermen voted unanimously to approve the blanket extension.

The aldermen also granted a license for out-of-town vendor Barley & Vine to cater liquor during this year’s Warrenton Fall Festival. However, Shilharvery asked whether the city should be reserving licenses for the festival for local vendors, to help them recover from the current economic conditions of COVID-19.

“Before approving liquor licenses for out-of-town businesses, I would think we would want to give our local people the first opportunity at it,” Shilharvey commented. “Especially in this time and conditions they’re working under — or ‘not working’ under. They’re going to need to try to recoup every dime they can, since they’re being shut down for a month or two months.”

Director of Operations Brandie Walters said the city normally aims to grant no more than five or six liquor catering licenses for the Fall Fest. The city rarely receives that many applications, she added.

“We have never turned away a liquor license yet for the Fall Festival, because we never have enough,” Walters commented. She said local vendors have all received invitations to apply for Fall Fest licenses. “I would never turn away a local person if they came and we ended up being over (six).”

Aldermen voted 6-0 to approve the liquor catering license.