Today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced he’d like to see Maryland grocery stores sell beer and wine. This will likely be met with opposition by the liquor store industry in the upcoming Maryland General Assembly.
Governor Moore said on the X platform today, “Maryland is one of only states in the nation that bans the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores – it’s time for a change. Lifting this ban puts people first and makes us more competitive. I look forward to working with our legislative partners to pass this overdue change.”
While the Harris Teeter at McHenry Row has an attached beer and wine store, beer and wine sales are not allowed inside Maryland grocery stores, as is the case at the Giant at Southside Marketplace.
Southside Marketplace did not allow liquor licenses until 2014 when State Legislation was changed to allow two Class B restaurant liquor licenses. But, the shopping center, which is owned by Regency Centers, nor a business in the shopping center, has taken advantage of the lifted moratorium at this point.
Along with the Harris Teeter and Giant in Locust Point and Riverside, Pigtown has grocery store Jumbo Fresh and Morrell Park has Aldi.
When Shoppers closed at Southside Marketplace in 2019, SouthBMore.com conducted a poll to see what residents would like to see in that space. Trader Joe’s was the overwhelming winner of that poll.
In the many discussions SouthBMore.com has had with local developers, several have noted Trader Joe’s is primarily looking for locations where it can sell alcohol. Trader Joe’s has no Baltimore City locations and has not added a new store to the Baltimore area in many years, other than a location change within Towson.
Christos Discount Liquors co-owner Nick Christopoulos told SouthBMore.com, “Wes Moore does not care about small businesses, he’s pandering to corporate America and lobbyists. They are going to put a lot of people out of business and thousands of people will be out of work. All these stores are paying a lot of taxes.”
He added when it comes to beer and wine in grocery stores, “there’s going to be less choice, the groceries stores are not going to carry all the options the liquor stores will.”
Christopoulos is not surprised by the effort, but he was surprised Governor Moore put his thumb on the scale.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said he’s willing to consider a change, but both sides need to come to a consensus — at the moment, he does not see a path.
Also from the article:
“The trickle-down effect is devastating if this happens. It truly is. People don’t understand — tons of stores will go out of business. They will not be able to survive — 53 lots of stores will have to cut their staff in half. I won’t probably need half of my staff,” said Hyatt, who owns Wells Discount Liquors.
And:
The Maryland Retailers Alliance, Maryland Association of Chain Drug Stores and Maryland Food Industry Council sent a statement to 11 News, saying:
“It’s time for Maryland to modernize its alcohol regulations as it pertains to beer and wine sales and join the vast majority of America in allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell these products. Public opinion broadly supports this initiative as demonstrated in polling data, and letting grocery stores and similar food retailers to expand their services to customers will clearly be a beneficial step for economic development and private sector investment in many communities across Maryland.
“Our food retailers don’t want to hurt existing liquor stores — we aren’t asking to sell liquor or spirits, and firmly believe that both types of businesses can and will exist in harmony without damaging the economic viability of virtually any business.
