A request by Full Throttle Saloon east of Sturgis to open a package liquor store at the popular rally venue has been pulled, according to Meade County assistant state's attorney Ken Chleborad.

Chleborad said an April 2 public hearing was pulled from the county commission's agenda.

Full Throttle owner Mike Ballard originally based the Full Throttle's request for an off-sale license on a state law that allows county officials to issue a package liquor license if the requesting business is on a platted piece of property and is contiguous to a platted unincorporated town that has a post office.

Ballard planned to use Fort Meade as the platted unincorporated town with a post office.

From the start, however, county and city officials questioned whether Fort Meade, designated as a military reservation, met the requirements of a platted town. The reservation has a map identifying its boundaries, but no maps showing it has been platted could be found.

The city of Sturgis owns the only liquor store for about 6 miles -- the next nearest is in Whitewood -- and Sturgis Liquor does strong business during the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally.

Full Throttle, also a major rally venue, provides on-sale liquor and beer, a restaurant, camping, vendors and music. It is across the road from Glencoe CampResort, a similar operation, and only a few miles west of the Buffalo Chip. All three venues hold thousands of campers and provide concerts at night during the rally.

Full Throttle's proposal could have seriously affected business at the city's liquor store, which uses the extra revenue generated to help fund operations at the Sturgis Community Center.