Yes, yes, a thousand times YES! The ban on grocery stores selling booze is just one more example of mindless government stupidity.

Won't someone please think of the children? By which, I mean their parents, who upon having to raise them for 18 years really just want to drink occasionally, and are now burdened with having to hit multiple stores to get a little adult beverage.

Seriously, I don't understand the East Coast at all, and the weird alcohol rules. Why can't we just buy all manner of booze at the grocery store like pretty much anyone west of the Appalachians? There's plenty of small places that compete just fine with chain stores when selling alcohol, especially if they serve a niche market. I'm sure Perfect Pour would still do just fine if Trader Joe's could sell Two Buck Chuck and Costco could sell Kirkland beer and vodka. It's not the same market.

That said, I only work on HoCo. I live in Montgomery County, and I believe the people who represent me (although not on this issue) will not let this sort of thing stand, given that the county runs all the liquor stores. So, there's that.

Thanks HoCo for your free flowing, undertaxed booze and free plastic bags!

Can someone explain to me why the Safeway in Burtonsville sells beer and wine and I believe it is in Howard County? It is certainly in Maryland and I thought these were banned in all counties.

Corridor is in AA County.

Free trade creates price competition. Why can't wine be shipped into MD ?

If the grocery stores start selling alcohol it will put the local liquor stores out of business.

Yes god please yes!!! Pkease please!! Not hard liquor or spirits but yes on wine and beer. please please.

I believe alcohol should be sold only in government (local/state/federal) facilities. That would better control sales to underage people or to people who have obviously already had enough. It would also ensure that the tax revenue goes to government. Of course, I also believe the same thing about video lottery facilities.

If you allow wine in Grocery stores then you actually reduce the selection of wine to choose from. Grocery stores work with the bigger wine companies like Gallo, Diageo and Constellation who pay for floor space to have their wines sold. The small wineries do not have the money to play in the same game hence smaller wineries go out of business and we are forced to choose from a monopolized market full of wines that all taste the same. If you need a particular wine from your local wine store they can usually have it within 48 hours if it's available, there is no need to drive around from store to store, a grocery store will not order a special wine for you because it's not corporately mandated.

This is the first state I've lived in where you CAN'T buy booze at the grocer's. The grocery store will charge a little more (to cover taxes and licensing, I suppose), and the liquor stores continue to thrive. Much more convenient for shoppers!

Really the question is "Should Howard County...?" because I already know that supermarkets further East in Maryland already do. I went to Salisbury in the early 90's and you could buy wine and beer in the local supermarkets. That is in Wicomico County, Maryland. I see no problem with other counties following suit (or the state allowing it state wide).

Corridor is in AA County not PG

The Shoppers in College Park sells Beer and Wine and the store has been open about 10 years. There is also a Citgo at the corner of Greenbelt and Lanham-Severn rds in Glendale that sells beer and wine though neither can do so on Sundays.

I know Montgomery County recently began selling Liquor on Sundays and I think PG County is the only one where you cannot. So sales appear to be a County not State issue though I could be wrong.

You know, come to think of it, I remember a fantastic beer and wine selection in the Whole Foods in Redwood City, CA last fall. They also had many local wines from Sonoma just up the road (where we were headed for the weekend). When I shop at the Harris Teeter in Baltimore, I love the fact that there is a beer and wine store right next to the grocery store, mostly for convenience. But that doesn't stop me from making special trips to the Perfect Pour and dropping lots of money there, just because they have such a comprehensive selection. But that's just me. :)

I'd rather have the liquor stores stay open on Sundays than see beer and wine in my supermarket.

All of us former California residents find the Maryland laws on alcoholic beverage sales infuriating. In most every other state, including Virginia both supermarkets and liquor stores have flourishing beer, wine, and liquor sales. There is no shortage of liquor stores in states where supermarkets sell alcoholic beverages.

For the consumer, it's really a question of convenience and choice. Allowing supermarkets to sell legal alcoholic beverages shouldn't even be controversial. It should be a "no-brainer". Liquor stores will not go away, they will just be forced to be more competitive - provide better product, service, and prices to the consumer.

I've lived in OH and FL as well- both with different laws. The fact is, out of sight out of mind. If its not in the store, I'm not tempted to drink. I prefer it the way it is.

I will point out that the numbers for this poll were substantially in favor of liquor sales in grocery stores for the first week--86% in favor, with 53% supporting the sale of beer, wine, AND spirits in grocery stores--with 627 total responses. Then a member of the union that represents the State Store employees of Pennsylvania's state-run "Wine and Spirits Shoppe" system circulated the presence of this poll via e-mail, resulting in an additional 300+ "no" votes in less than 24 hours!

Why not let them sell it? If you don't want it, don't buy it. Frankly, while I know that the liquor store being discussed has to be separate from Wegman's, I think if they were together, they could be really helpful in pairing the wines with cheese. I don't know why people are so afraid when there are so many other states that allow these sales. I don't even drink and think this is a silly, freedom-restricting law.

The above Poll has largely become invalid as a number of Union employees from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board have been passing it around. They would all be out of a job if Pennsylvania passed such measures so they've decided to skew the Poll in their favor.

They sell cigarettes in grocery stores, sell lottery tickets in grocery stores, sell mixers in grocery stores, so what's the big deal. Of course politics is the answer. I don't know what can be done to change this law, anyone have any constructive answers.

Seems to me that many are not clear on the liquor laws at the Federal, State and County levels, nor are they clear on the 3 tier system that has led us out of prohibition. Without that collaboration, Prohibition might possibly still be in effect. Having been in the liquor business for the past 15 years, I have no problem allowing grocery stores to sell wine and beer. The problem is that you'll also be inviting chain liquor stores such as Corridor and Beltway's cousin company, total wines and more, to come into the state. They WILL put mom and pop stores out of business, no doubt. Grocery stores will not. Liquor stores have been bombarded by state alcohol law changes due solely to corridor and beltway the past few years and they are aiming squarely at your neighborhood businesses. Personally, I believe too many liquor stores set up shop and just sit around doing nothing and being completely unhelpful to customers. I do not operate that way and have spent many years building a successful liquor store tailored to my customers needs. If I do not have an item or answer, I WILL get it for them. Large corporations buy what is cheap and sell cheap, sometimes they buy direct from suppliers and eat everyone else for breakfast (ie kitchen sink wines at Beltway/corridor, Gallo wines bottled under Kirkland brand, crane lake bottled under crane lake brands). Selling wines with any sort of competence is extremely difficult, yet not an excuse.

Thanks for that perspective, cville city. I think you make some interesting points. 100% honest question: in your opinion, what is it that makes fielding independent liquor stores profitable states that allow alcohol (even hard liquor) sales in grocery/convenience stores, but that would put MD indie stores out of business? Is it because the market's oversaturated with indie liquor stores, particularly the kind with apathetic owners/workers? If so, I could completely understand the notion that the myth of perfect market efficiency would drive the worthless stores under, but leave good ones standing. Market efficiency sometimes ignores concepts of low service quality, uninformed consumers, and unscrupulous wholesale transaction practices. But is that what you're saying would drive good stores out as well, or is there another issue at play?

Boh, Complicated answer. Part of corridor's and Beltway's legal success against the state and the MSLBA resulted in quantity discounts being allowed by wholesalers and suppliers whereas, prior to this, a store bought what they thought they could sell in 30 days and pay for it in 30 days. For instance, Pernod Ricard ( absolut, kahlua, jameson, beefeater, malibu.etc. was on a top QD of 300 cases with a rebate system from the wholesaler last month. That's 45 grand in just a few products. Very few stores have that purchasing power. Stores that buy that have two choices: Discount the heck out of those items and move it out, or make a decent margin and sit on it longer. Now, multiply those quantity discounts across several thousand brands, and now independent stores are warehouses themselves. Stores that are selling for a buck or two over cost are thriving. Most don't buy Qd's and margins are too high and they will close up shop due to low volume sales, but someone else will give it a go because licenses are based on population, and someone will pay the 150k for the opportunity to own a liquor store in this state. Liquor control counties/states (moco) simply use the "controlling booze" aspect as an excuse to collect more revenue for the locale. People want everything cheap. It's killing our country, yet unlike groceries and clothing, booze is heavily taxed and regulated by the feds. If stores play the QD game, they will be fine, grocery stores or not.

Grocery stores will sell popular wine and beer and perhaps spirits, cheap. In states that allow grocery store liquor sales, the successful independent stores focus on customer service, selection based on customer needs, and convenience for the neighborhood. I'd prefer not to stock certain brands because I believe them to be a poor product, and would be happy to let grocery stores buy them in bulk and sell them for no profit, but for now, I have to stock those brands and people expect to pay a certain price for them. Most of my customers are tired of big box stores in congested areas, and they are willing to pay a dollar or two more for that. That's where independent stores thrive. Now, if you need a nice dry sancerre to go with some shrimp and oysters tonight, have fun at Giant when they recommend a Sauternes (sweet) or look at you eight different ways when they have never heard of either. For your basic yellow tail 1.5L for 9 or 10 bucks, they are fine, since you know what you want and large companies think customer service means "self service" is better than anything our 18 year old kid can offer you. Heck, he might be on a computer screen in the wine section while physically sitting in India. To me, that's not America and it's all relative to the last untouched business climate in Maryland.

I don't know that I've completely answered your question Boh, considering I've never worked in a state that predominantly allowed beer/wine sales in grocery stores throughout the state. California doesn't count if you ask me since a large part of the state is heavily rooted in vineyards and wineries. Moco (considered a "control county) sells spirits, wine and WARM beer only and my experience has been that their selection varies wildly, while they do issue Beer/Wine licenses to licensees. North Carolina and Virginia have ABC stores that sell nothing but spirits, yet beer is drive through. That is inconvenient. P.A has restrictive liquor laws and D.C is similar to Maryland due to such close proximity to each other. Many also forget that we have a separate sales tax rate on booze now. Had Annapolis gotten their way, your favorite bottle of 1.75L of spirits would have gone up by about 9 dollars per bottle. Add that to an already unfavorable small business climate in this state and many proprietors would be in trouble. We already have destination liquor stores in each county; no need for chains to move in. Grocery store booze is a convenience factor and prices won't necessarily be cheaper for the consumer. I can't say that there is any one factor that would make independent stores operating in a grocery/chain store climate successful or not.

I frequently visit the Miami/Fort Lauderdale , Florida area. There, Costco , Publix supermarkets and other large businesses have the ability to sell wine and liquor along with the many other small businesses that do so. The small businesses survive just as well as the big guys. The small businesses give competitive pricing of their goods. The small businesses in Maryland are not in favor of this kind of competition because they gauge for higher prices without competition. The people on these committees who come up with what we can, and can't have are out of touch with the people on the street. It's always to them. We never get a vote. Do they speak for us, or themselves? Supermarkets in France and all over Europe sell wine and liquor with no problems to smaller merchants, or children. Maryland needs to grow up!

Liquor store competition in Maryland is fierce. Census population also dictates the number of licenses allowed in each district, therefore, if one license is granted to a grocery store chain, they will all want licenses which over saturates the market. For those stores that are more expensive...good for them, as it obviously represents customers are willing to pay for convenience instead of shopping around for price. Liquor stores that are super competitive have very low margins and must sell in volume to stay in business, yet the state only allows stores in size up to 10k Sq.Ft, which many liquor stores don't even come close to in size. People are quick to criticize Maryland's liquor laws, yet fail to compare apples to apples when comparing to other states. How about South Carolina? Until a few years back, liquor could not be served in bars. Now liquor drinks are available, OUT OF MINIATURES! Utah still has bars that can only sell beer below 3.2% alc/weight. The larger issue here is consolidation of small business who pay their fair share of taxes and are bought out or closed due to large corporations (who find loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes) and nearly monopolizing markets. Being Pro-Chain Liquor stores is to kick your small business owner neighbor in the teeth. The potential Wegman's Liquor store owner didn't even have the decency to show to the hearing. Great support of the community on his part.

Why is Maryland over regulated on everything?

Perfect Pour is a good business, grown by a local business owner and moved to it's current location. If his wife, or son or business owner wants to open another store, great, then that's legal. They simply cannot have the same person on both licenses, a loophole. If I were a local liquor store owner near Wegman's, I would offer up my license for a hefty price...something some of those store owner's should have evaluated themselves. It's not unreasonable to ask that the 90% owner attend his own hearing. If he's too busy to manage his current obligations, why should he add more to his "busy" life by owning a liquor store. I stand corrected regarding his appearance. Everyone is hating on the MSLBA and the "good ol' boys" liquor club. Fact is...this is the way Maryland operates, and I find it noble that small business owners stick together whether they peddle booze or shoes. Walmart has bullied it's suppliers to the point of submission. Wegsman's and grocery stores would do the same and attempt to bypass wholesalers while eliminated 1000's of jobs all so they can sell products at or below cost and make up for the loss in their grocery stores. When you see corona 24pk loose bottles for $22.99...that retailer makes ONE DOLLAR, for a gross margin of .45%. While large stores can buy 100's of cases and make up for it in volume, you're local village center cannot. Gov't sponsored monopoly is crazy talk.

This ME, ME, ME mentality is b.s. Coupled with CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP...Watch how this sort of thinking applies with Healthcare. Heck, even Doctors aren't accepting health insurance anymore and are now cash only or a combination of both. Eventually, your broken leg will be serviced in a drive through by a Doctor who makes $1.00 in profit because he's cheaper than the guy down the street and the customer want's it cheap. How about that for regulation? Will you attack the American Medical Association with such abuse and vitriolic criticism just so you can save a buck or two? Please do, because it's already happening. Shop around, pony up the money and move on. No reason to attack the structure of the State Liquor laws when in all honesty, it barely inconveniences anyone. If Maryland had it's way with an increase in the alcohol tax, you're favorite $20 bottle of spirits would now be $29. You can thank the MSLBA for fighting such drastic tax increases and be happy it only went up 3% to a total 9% total sales tax. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

My name is Singh,if you notice in Maryland most of 60% liquor and bar store run by Asian ppl or us,i am in business in last 10 years,i believe if all grocery store sell beer wine or liquor is good for our business.
Cuz they make 40% or more in the business and we are in big competition and we not make 20% or less in this business.
So i think Maryland state give license big chane,like walmart,Marsh,or big grocery store,so basically is one stop shoping.
Then i hope we make a good business and work for a good margin of profits,
...............Amarjit Singh.

I think state of Maryland give liquor license to all big Chan grocery store,so is one stop shopping,ppl go to grocery and they buy beer or wine whatever they need,they don't need sciond stop and park go to buy liquor or beer,
All other state like,New york,la,nj,va,or so many other state sell liquor or beer in 7/11, or any other small store then why in Maryland,we can't,

Singh, With the wholesaler quantity discounts, liquor stores can either buy the largest quantity deal they can and pass those savings on to customers at steep discounts and volume sales, or have a higher margin with slower sales. Ideally, each individual grocery store would get liquor trucks sent directly from the wholesalers to the stores, just as they do for all liquor stores now, however, I would be willing to bet that as soon as grocery stores can sell booze, they will petition to have wholesalers ship directly to grocery store warehouses who then self distribute to their own stores. Then the quantity discounts get larger and the grocery stores will buy, for instance, this months 300 case QD on Pernod ricard products (absolut, kahlua, beefeater, jameson, malibu). That's about 50 grand in a few products. Less than 40 liquor stores in the state can afford to spend that, but they win big when they sell those products for 3-15 dollars cheaper than the smaller competition. Grocery stores will be a position to be discounters of beer, wine and spirits, but likely they will buy so much at once, make their margins and will have killer profits. Item A. costs Giant $5 when they buy 500 cases. They sell it for $7. The same item at at 50 case deal costs the independent liquor store $6 and they sell it for $9 dollars. Giant has a 40% margin, but sells 500 cases in a month for a $12,000 profit. Mr. independent liquor store makes $1800 @ 50% margin over 2 months.

The positives to grocery stores selling booze? Volume value brands will be less expensive for the consumer who wants cheap booze cheap. Most existing grocery stores won't have the dedicated size and closed off space Wegman's provided and selection and service will be limited. Then the Sunday sales prohibition in certain counties will have to be evaluated as well as age restrictions that are in place that prohibit individuals under 21 from selling alcohol (different counties, different rules) at grocery store cash registers. A lot would have to change to allow grocery store sales.

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