Coloradoans are one step closer to being able to buy beer and liquor on Sundays. Hip-hip-hoo-f-ing-ray. I've never understood the reasoning behind that dumb law that "prohibits the retail sale, service, or distribution of malt, vinous, and spirituous liquors in sealed containers on Sundays." For some reason it is okay go drink at a bar on Sunday, but not purchase alcohol for your own home. Mind boggling. Senate Bill 82 passed in the Senate and now needs to go through the house before the governor signs it.
In related news, the Colorado house also voted down a bill that would allow grocery stores to sell wine and full strength beer. That's great news too, because I have no doubt that the grocery stores would stock crap. And since the majority of people will choose the convenience of buying their beer with their groceries, it would hurt the bottom line of the liquor stores that actually stock good stuff.
Here's to more accessible beer in Colorado. *hic*
That was my major reason for leaving Colorado. Maybe I need to re-think that ;)
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteI never understood the whole Sunday thing. I'm glad they are rethinking it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, also of note is the fact that LIQUOR STORE OWNERS actually fought this amendment a while ago... until the grocery seller their stuff bill was introduced. So until they were offered competition, they didn't want to be ABLE to open... lazy sacks...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought it was weird that they fought it in the first place. The one argument I read was from some liquor store owner saying that it would keep him from his Sunday "family time". Huh? As far as I know, the bill didn't say you HAD to be open on Sunday, it just said you COULD. (Maybe I'm wrong though, and their liquor license was contingent on being open on Sundays.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, also of note is the fact that LIQUOR STORE OWNERS actually fought this amendment a while ago... until the grocery stores were offered the opportunity to compete. lazy liquor store sacks...
ReplyDeleteMove to Kentucky
ReplyDeleteThe state gives you a backyard still as a housewarming gift.
Neither limitation makes sense to me. The "argument" of liquor store owners is that keeping it out of grocery stores allows independent liquor stores to thrive--and apparently, under CO law, all liquor stores MUST be independent.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't get is how it's anyone's business who I buy liquor from or when. If I want to buy a pint of MD 20/20 from a 7/11 on Easter Sunday, why shouldn't I be able to?
And, for the record, as a Californian, I can testify that neither liquor sales on Sunday, nor liquor sales in grocery stores, has led to a diminution of selection nor to the downfall of the corner liquor store.
Here's the way I see it:
ReplyDeleteLet's say grocery stores are allowed to carry beer. So they stock stuff that they know people will buy. In addition to the usual macro brew suspects, they'll select some of the more popular craft/micro brews and stock their shelves. Per the grocery bill, the grocery stores would be limited in the amount of store space for alcohol so they wouldn't have as wide a selection as a liquor store but they'd be grabbing the larger part of the market by selling to the tastes of masses.
I think the majority of people who want a 6-pack of Fat Tire are going to pick that up while they're doing their usual grocery shopping instead of spending the money at a specialty liquor store. This hurts the liquor store (obviously), and it hurts the consumer because it potentially means the store needs to either raise their prises to stay open selling to a specialty market, or suffer financially until they can't stay open. I would suspect that the sales of the "usual" beers is the lion's share of a liquor store's revenue and it gives them the ability to stock more of the fringe stuff.
Who knows if that would actually happen. In California it apparently hasn't. There are a lot of people in Colorado who seek out good beer, so there's a good chance that my favorite stores would remain open. That's a risk I'm not willing to take though. :)
Perhaps the key is NOT limiting the amount of space that you can use for alcohol in the grocery store?
ReplyDeleteI know in Washington, groceries can sell beer and wine and their local vineyard and microbrew sections are HUGE. Based on the sheer size of the aisleS used for booze I don't think they have a limit on how much space they can use - and the consumers obviously want the selection because the groceries stock it.
Yes, maybe not limiting the shelf space would help. I think that part of the bill was put in there to appease liquor store owners. Another thing that would be mandatory for success is hiring someone who know their shit when it comes to beer and wine. A large grocery store, for sure, would have more buying power than an independent store, which would also help in getting good stuff in the store.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a moot point though, since that bill has been killed (for now).