Massachusetts has an initiative question in next Tuesday’s election that would let supermarkets sell wine. I’m against it.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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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 … <\/p>\n