ALBANY — The lines are well-formed, but once again, some state legislators are pushing a bill that would legalize the sale of wine in grocery stores.
At a roundtable convened Monday by the measure’s legislative sponsors — Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Big Flats, and Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Rochester — the vice chairman of Wegmans supermarkets argued with an East Greenbush liquor store owner about the bill.
“The majority of liquor stores will be severely hurt by this,” said Beth Leonelli-Endres, owner of Vineyards Wine Spirit on Routes 9 and 20. “The wine is what pays my rent … liquor is there for customer convenience.”
She is affiliated with a coalition of liquor-store owners that has for years blocked the legislation, arguing its members have located and developed their businesses based on an economic model that lets them sell only wine and liquor but makes them are the sole place consumers can buy the products. To change the law now would result in the closure of small businesses, Leonelli-Endres argued.
Representatives from the Business Council and Farm Bureau have endorsed the legislation, which they argued would stimulate growth among New York’s wineries.
Paul Speranza, vice chair of Rochester-based Wegmans, said it would create over 250 “meaningful” jobs if his stores could sell wine.
“For years, the opposition has refused to come to the table,” he charged. “Why is it fair that one group is not hurt and all of these other groups are hurt? Citizens of this state are treated equally, or should be treated equally.”
When prompted, Leonelli-Endres suggested allowing liquor stores to also sell beer. The bill as drafted has offered other carrots — it would allow liquor store owners to open at multiple locations, sell directly to restaurants and bars and offer drink mixers and snack accouterments.
The bill would generate quick cash for the state by charging licensing fees for stores that hope to sell wine — as much as $350 million, Morelle estimated.
Speranza cited a grocer-funded study saying 6,000 jobs would be created if the wine sales were legalized, but it’s unclear how that might be offset by potential job losses at liquor stores.
“Any change in this arcane liquor industry we have is difficult because businesses have been built on this regulatory scheme,” O’Mara said. “Without any real economic analysis to contradict (the grocers), this argument is quite old.”
Reach Vielkind at 454-5081 or [email protected].
Article source: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/The-push-for-wine-sales-is-on-again-1392554.php
