Selma Dollar General stores will soon follow a trend throughout the Southeast of selling wine and beer.

At its recent meeting, the Selma City Council voted in favor of an off-premises alcohol license for the 701 Roosevelt Ave. location.

Selma city attorney Jimmy Nunn said locations at West Dallas Avenue and Highland also hope to secure licenses.

“All of the Dollar General stores are recommending that the council consider the passage of the city letting them sell alcohol,” he said.

Because the stores will sell for off-premises use, Nunn said they do not have to follow the same rule that requires them to be 300 feet from a church.

“Our ordinance only applies to on-premises,” he said. “They will be selling off premises.”

The issue, council president Cecil Williamson said, has already come up in nearby Montgomery, where several stores were granted licenses.

Nunn also said they have received no negative feedback from the community so far.

“I have not received any objections,” he said. “We have all three applications with one on West Dallas, and then we have one on Highland, which is 1360 East Highland Avenue, so they are asking for all three of them to be approved.”

The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company has sold food and drinks for years in its 9,000 stores in 35 states — along with everything from home decor items to health and beauty supplies and apparel.

Dollar General spokeswoman Tawn Earnest said the company expects to eventually offer beer or wine in half its stores, but declined to say where the stores already selling alcohol are located.

“The company is exploring opportunities in locations where there is a customer demand,” Earnest said in a release on Wednesday.

Consumable sales account for almost 70 percent of Dollar General’s total revenue, compared to other discount chains where such sales account for about half of total revenue, according to Zoe Tan, a Morningstar analyst who follows Dollar General and other discount retailers.

This focus on consumables has served the company well, particularly during the economic downturn as consumers on tighter budgets rely on Dollar General for daily necessities, Tan said.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.