HOBART | The Target store at 2661 E. U,S. 30 should soon be stocking for the first time a complete line of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine and other liquors, store manager Mandy Carrasquillo said.

A three-way liquor license was approved through the county for the store last week, she said.

"Now we're waiting for corporate to confirm the licensing that was approved," she said.

She said many other area Target stores, including those in St. John, Highland and Munster, already stock alcoholic beverages.

Most Super Targets throughout the state also sell alcoholic beverages, she said.

Carrasquillo said the stocking of alcohol, particularly wine, is due to customer demand.

"So it's primarily a convenience for our shoppers, the majority of which are women," she said.

Steve Winters, a Target corporate spokesman, confirmed future plans by the Hobart store.

He said he wasn't certain of the exact date when alcohol would be available for sale at that store.

Launching of the new line of alcoholic products doesn't have anything to do with the face-lift planned for the store sometime next year, according to Eric Uebelhor, an engineer with Woolpert Inc.

Uebelhor earlier this year received approval from the Plan Commission to go forward with an 11,000-square-foot expansion to include closing the right entryway to the store and reworking the left entryway.

Eventually the two existing entries will be reduced to one.

Plans also call for the moving of concrete traffic islands and the addition of landscaping.

The expansion is scheduled to take place in 2009.

Uebelhor said the goal is to bring the store up to new standards and give it a new look.