Liquor Store Owners: Wine in grocery store proposal is "crippling"
Story Created:
Mar 15, 2010 at 11:45 AM EST
Story Updated:
Mar 15, 2010 at 5:08 PM EST
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - For over a year, Governor David Paterson has been pushing to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores.
During that year-long battle, liquor store owners have maintained that allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores would be crippling to their businesses.
Meanwhile, state officials said they see the proposal as resulting in increased state revenues and the creation of more jobs.
At a news conference on Monday, New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker held a news conference at the Price Chopper Supermarket on Genesee Street in South Utica.
Throughout the morning press conference, Hooker encouraged consumers to ask their legislators for support in the sale of wine in grocery stores. Hooker said expanding the sales of wine to grocery stores would generate $300 million in state revenues between both sales and liquor licenses.
While the setting of the press conference may have been a grocery store, roughly a dozen liquor store owners made their voices and concerns heard, attending the press conference as well. The store owners said that while the state would benefit in the short-term, the long-term effects would mean less business for them, as well as the possibly of having to close their stores.
Liquor store owners said there are many restrictions already in place on what they can and can not sell.
Currently, liquor stores can only sell liquor and wine, said Kevin Hughes, owner of City Liquors in Utica. Hughes said liquor stores are not currently allowed to serve food items. However, part of this proposal would allow liquor stores to sell snack food items such as potato chips and pretzels.
"They are taking away our single number-one profitable item and replacing it with gimmicks," Hughes said. "There is nothing in potato chips we are going to take in that will make up for the loss...the significant loss of wine and the profit we live off of."
Commissioner Hooker said that consumers should have the choice where they want to buy their wine, and he believes that expanding the sales into grocery stores expands not only the market, but the jobs.
"It will expand the economic base we have," Hooker said. "More grapes will be planted. More wineries will exist. More businesses will sell labels and bottles."
Hooker pointed out that currently, there is no specific law drawn up proposing the sale of wine in grocery stores.
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