Saudi Arabia opens its first liquor store in over 70 years as kingdom further liberalizes

A liquor store has opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 70 years, a diplomat reported Wednesday, a further socially liberalizing step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom that is home to the holiest sites in Islam.

While restricted to non-Muslim diplomats, the store in Riyadh comes as Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aims to make the kingdom a tourism and business destination as part of ambitious plans to slowly wean its economy away from crude oil.