Maryland Consumer Freedom Coalition pushes for wine, beer sales in grocery stores
BALTIMORE —
The debate on whether to sell beer and wine in Maryland grocery stores continued as a coalition asked state lawmakers to consider passing legislation.
The Maryland Consumer Freedom Coalition wants lawmakers to consider a bill that would legalize wine and beer sales in grocery stores. The bill did not make it to the floor last session.
“I feel as though it should happen,” said Diamond Page, a shopper at the Giant grocery store in Locust Point. “I know in other states, it is in gas stations, grocery stores.”
Hunter Anderson agrees.
“I think I’m all for it. It saves people from driving further. It creates more competition,” Anderson said.
Jordyn Van Arsdale said it would make her shopping easier.
“Having to go to a grocery store and then a separate store to buy beer and wine is kind of annoying, so I think it would be very convenient,” Van Arsdale said.
The Maryland Consumer Freedom Coalition is renewing its push for legislation to allow wine and beer sales in grocery stores after a pair of bills to legalize wine and beer sales in grocery stores did not make it to the floor last legislative session.
The group spoke to media members on Thursday outside the Giant in Locust Point, launching their campaign for the legislation to be considered and passed this upcoming session.
Allowing Maryland grocery stores to sell wine and beer will boost the state’s economy by keeping Marylanders who live near the state’s borders from spending their dollars at one-stop shops in other states, the group said.
“Every time a Maryland family crosses that border to shop, we don’t just lose their beer and wine sale. We lose their entire grocery basket,” said Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance. “We lose sales tax revenue. We lose spending that should be supporting Maryland jobs and Maryland communities.”
Advocates believe the measure would also help keep grocery stores in communities.
“What many people do not realize is that grocery stores operate on extraordinarily thin profit margins — typically between 1% and 3%,” Locklair said. “In nearly every state where beer and wine can be purchased alongside groceries, retailers experience a stabilizing revenue boost.”
Baltimore City Del. Marlon Amprey, D-District 40, sponsored the house bill to legalize wine and beer sales for grocers this past session.
“One of the issues we are facing across Maryland, we are seeing grocery stores close,” Amprey said. “In order for us to be able to stabilize communities so that they can have the grocery stores they deserve and need, beer and wine in these stores can be the lift they need to make sure their margins are in a place where they can stay where they are.”
Not everyone is on board, though. The owners of The Wine Source in Hampden worry wine and beer sales at grocery stores could hurt their business.
“We think it would be catastrophic for our business,” said Caitlin O’Connor, a worker-owner at the shop. “We just are a small mom and pop shop like a lot of the other liquor stores in Maryland, and we just would not be able to compete with some of these larger corporations.”
Though O’Connor said she understands the convenience aspect and why some shoppers want the laws to change, she hopes they stay the same.
“I don’t think people fully understand that that convenience would come at the cost of a lot of Maryland jobs,” O’Connor said. “We don’t think that we would be able to survive a push like that.”
Amprey and advocates understand concerns from small businesses, but said there are protections in the legislation when it comes to licensing and distance.
Amprey and fellow lawmakers will revisit the legislation during the next session, he said.
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