Massachusetts has an initiative question in next Tuesday’s election that would let supermarkets sell wine. I’m against it.
Now, it’s true that we’re way behind the times on this issue. The current situation is that any one person can only hold two liquor licenses. A whole supermarket chain counts as one person, so only two Trader Joes’ markets in the whole state can sell wine currently, and two Shaw’s markets, and so on.
Maybe I’m wrong on this, because independent stores seem to exist in Maine, for instance, where most supermarkets sell wine, but I see it as another step in consolidation of all retail business. There aren’t small stationery stores any more, the way there were before Staples and Office Depot took over that business, and there aren’t independent drugstores any more, the way there were before Walgreens and CVS and Rite Aid took over that business, and there aren’t independent hardware stores any more, the way there were before Home Depot and Lowe’s took over that business. Independent liquor stores will have a harder time staying in business if supermarkets start selling wine. There are always some just on the edge of being profitable, or profitable enough to be worthwhile. Some will close, and the promise of more choice and more convenience for consumers will just turn into having to go to the supermarket instead of a small business; and that almost certainly means having to drive instead of being able to walk to a nearby store. So, I see a “yes” vote on question 1 here as a vote against small neighborhood stores. But maybe I didn’t make it in time to get a post in on November 3.
‘Fraid you’re spitting into the wind on this one. Don’t know what happened to the antitrust laws somewhere down the road, but everything is becoming Sam’s Club rapidly. Small bookstores, small music stores. Those I would miss much more than small liquor stores. You know the initiative will pass, but the effort is admirable.
I totally agree with you on this. I do not believe the hype about teens having access to wine or the pimply faced clerk selling grog to his friends. I am sporting my local guy arond the corner, who will point out a reasonable bottle of blanc I might like and asking me if I think it is good enough for him to order more. I also worked in an independant booksore many years ago and I work in a small yarn salon now. For these reasons I voted against Question 1 today.