Douglas Breeze In closes; liquor license transferred by Foodland owner to adjacent space occupied by Kenny's Liquor Market
- Mark Sabbatini
- Oct 9
- 3 min read
30-year-old liquor store set to close Oct. 31, then reopen Nov. 1 as part of expanded supermarket operated by The Myers Group LLC
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The Douglas Breeze In closed permanently on Wednesday and its retail license is being transferred to the space next to Foodland IGA currently occupied by Kenny's Liquor Market, which is set to close on Oct. 31 after 30 years of operation.
The moves are part of a series of changes by The Myers Group LLC, based in Washington state, which purchased two other Breeze In convenience stores in Juneau last year as well as the alcohol license for the Douglas location, Tyler Myers, the company’s owner, said an interview Thursday.
"The owners of the Breeze In were retiring and they approached us about purchasing the business, and we ended up doing that," he said. "The Douglas store was not a store that was really a viable store for us, so the way the purchase happened is we were purchasing the Breeze In Valley store and the Breeze In Lemon Creek store, and they chose to keep the Douglas store. And then we ended up purchasing just the liquor license from them and that is going to be transferred to Foodland IGA."
Myers said that, due to practical considerations involving the retiring owners, his company has "been running the grocery side of things" at the Douglas store, but "we've had nothing to do really with the alcohol side" until the transfer application was approved.
He said he was not involved in the decision to close the Douglas store as of Wednesday.
"As of Oct. 8, 2025, this location has officially closed," a sign at the main entrance of the Douglas Breeze In states. "We want to extend our deepest gratitude to our loyal customers, staff, and the entire community. Thank you, Juneau-Douglas, for 46 incredible years."
Attempts by the Juneau Independent on Thursday to reach Allan Ahlgren, the previous owner of the Breeze In, were unsuccessful.
The Douglas Breeze In, located on the island end of the Douglas Bridge, was the smallest of the three convenience stores. A public notice of the alcohol transfer application, stating the intent is to transfer it to Foodland IGA, first appeared in the Juneau Empire on Nov. 6, 2024.
The Myers Group, in addition to Foodland and the Breeze In stores, also owns the Super Bear IGA supermarket and DeHart’s Auke Bay Store in Juneau, as well as numerous supermarkets and other businesses in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
The company’s purchase of the Breeze In also overlapped its plan to end the lease for Kenny's Liquor Market, which opened in 1995. However, that upcoming closure took more than a year longer than originally planned due to the lengthy process of completing the license transfer, Myers said.
"When we did the remodel on (Foodland) IGA many years ago that whole front area was scheduled to be a liquor store — built it as a liquor store," he said. "It's taken us quite a while to actually obtain a liquor license and so now that we have one we're going to put that in operation."
Myers said the plan is to open the modified and combined grocery/liquor store space on Nov. 1, the day after Kenny's Liquor Market closes.
Pete Thibodeau, owner of Kenny's Liquor Market and several other retail alcohol stores in Juneau, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Myers said no other major changes are in the immediate future for his company’s stores in Juneau, although an effort is being made to provide more of the Breeze In’s prepared food products to the IGA supermarkets. He said "a fairly significant remodel at the Valley Breeze In" is also planned, probably within the next year.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
