ESCONDIDO -- Beverages & More is slated to open its first Escondido store on July 18, providing local residents with a liquor store that advertises low prices and a wide range of beer and wine selections.

But City Councilman Sam Abed said Escondido already has too many liquor stores, and the manager of the city's largest liquor store said he was disappointed that his longtime local landmark will now have to compete against a corporate chain.

Beverages & More will take over the former site of Tweeter, just west of Interstate 15 in the Staples/Sports Authority plaza. The new store will fill an inland North County void for the chain, which has stores in Carmel Mountain Ranch, Oceanside, Temecula, Encinitas and Solana Beach.

The 10,000-square-foot store will be among the largest liquor stores in the city. Holiday Wine Cellar has operated a 12,000-square-foot store at Mission Avenue and Escondido Boulevard since 1965. A Liquor Barn on East Valley Parkway closed in late 2007.

Jaime Rueda, a Beverages & More employee who will manage the new store, said Monday that the location was chosen based on high volume of traffic in the area and the presence of so-called "big box" retailers. In addition to Staples and Sports Authority, a Target and a Mervyn's are nearby.

Rueda said the new store will employ 15 to 20 people and be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Jim Crone, who handles many commercial leases in the city, said Monday that the company also looked at a site in the Signature Plaza in downtown Escondido and two sites just east of Interstate 15: the former Good Guys site north of Valley Parkway and the former Barnes & Noble site on the south side of Valley.

Crone is not the leasing agent for the site chosen by Beverages & More.

City Councilman Dick Daniels said Monday that the store will keep more residents shopping within Escondido, which means more sales tax revenue to cover park maintenance and the salaries of police officers and firefighters.

"Beverages & More stores are popular wherever they open," said Daniels. "I've had several people ask me over the last couple of years why we don't have one."

Harvey Mitchell, chief executive of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, said the store will be popular because of selection and prices.

"I imagine they will be very busy right from the start," said Mitchell. "People like to get things for close to wholesale price."

But City Councilman Sam Abed said the 117 stores already selling liquor in Escondido are more than enough.

Daniels disagreed, contending that Beverages & More will be located several miles west of where the city suffers from an oversaturation of liquor stores on East Valley Parkway. He also said the new store will be far different from a typical corner liquor store.

James Howell, manager of Holiday Wine Cellar, conceded that Beverages & More offers many more products than a typical liquor store. But he said Holiday also has an extensive selection.

Hesaid he was disappointed to hear that Beverages & More was coming to Escondido.

"It kind of takes away from those who have been in town for many years," said Howell, explaining that his store has been open for 43 years. "But I'm sure it will be a fun competition."

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.