Wine and Beer at small grocery, The Mill Market, Hawley, PA. Grocery stores in New York are not permitted to sell wine.
Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
New Yorkers can now enjoy wine and spirits sourced directly from their favorite local liquor shops right at their beloved neighborhood bar, thanks to a new state law that went into effect this month.
The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) now allows bars, restaurants and other “on-premises” establishments to buy limited amounts of wine or liquor per week from nearby off-premises retail licensees, such as liquor and wine stores.
The agency called the new law, which went into effect on March 5, a “common-sense reform.” According to SLA reps, the legislation eases burdens on small businesses by giving local venues more purchasing flexibility during emergencies, while also supporting neighborhood retailers across the state.
Bars and similar establishments are now permitted to purchase 6 bottles per week from a local liquor store. (Per the law, a 12-pack of canned ready-to-drink cocktails counts as one bottle.)
Previously, these venues were not allowed to immediately replenish those bottles unless they arranged a delivery of the out-of-stock products from their wholesaler, leading to lost sales.
State officials said the law is a move to modernize the Empire State’s alcoholic beverage control laws while supporting the hospitality industry.
“New York’s restaurant, tavern, and bar operators are our agency’s largest constituency,” SLA chair Lily Fan said. “Collectively, they are the state’s largest number of small businesses and is the State’s largest employer. Their success is the state’s abundance.”
The law notes that off-premises retail licensees are also limited to selling up to six bottles per week to bars and restaurants. Both on-premises and off-premises licensees must keep records of each transaction and make them available for inspection by the SLA.
Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the NYS Restaurant Association, previously served on a commission to study reform of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. She stressed the importance of consistent examination of laws to support the hospitality industry.
“The commission made numerous recommendations for ways to update these laws, and during the past few years, the people here today have worked hard to turn those recommendations into policy, with retail to retail being the most recent example,” she said. “It’s so important to continuously examine and update these laws to eliminate red tape for today’s hospitality industry.”
Will New York supermarkets be allowed to sell wine?
The new law was placed on the books as some state lawmakers reintroduced this year legislation that would allow supermarkets in New York to sell wine. The move is controversial and has pitted small business owners against retail giants throughout the city and state, as it would amend the law to establish grocery store wine licenses.
Many wine and liquor stores, as well as union groups, have spoken out against the grocery store legislation.
“This legislation will destroy the union workforce, local wine and liquor store merchants and in-state wineries responsible for maintaining every aspect of wine production and sale in New York,” Michael Correra, executive director of Metro Package Store Association, said. “The ones to benefit from this will be the billionaire supermarket chain owners, while working-class New Yorkers will be steamrolled.”
Others feel differently, with supporters suggesting that selling wine in grocery stores offers benefits, including meeting consumer demand and a strong fiscal impact that would generate new sales.