On the November 4th ballot, with early voting beginning October 15-30 80 cities, towns in Tennessee will be voting on wine in grocery stores. Is it only about wine in grocery stores? What are the other consequences for a vote to purchase wine in other businesses beside a liquor store?
Knoxville, Maryville and Alcoa are three of the 80 communities. Knoxville with all the liquor stores haven’t really gotten fired up. However, over in Blount County the voters of Alcoa and Maryville have two sides helping to educate the voters. If the voters Vote Yes then wine will become an item for purchase everywhere on July 1, 2016 cA new state law has already allowed liquor stores to begin selling beer and other items such as mixers, cheese and corkscrews. Previously, the stores could only sell liquor, wine and lottery tickets.
In Blount County a group named Citizens for Local Control of Alcohol Sales, is working to as former radio commentator Paul Harvey would say tell the rest of the story. Not only grocery stores and big box retailers but businesses like dollar stores, convenience markets and/or pharmacies.
The legislation defines “retail food store” as a business that derives at least 20 percent of its sales from the retail sale of food and food ingredients and has floor space of at least 1,200 square feet.
Blount County business man Daryl Tipton was quoted in this Daily Times news story from Maryville, TN as saying “If this passes, the availability of it is going to skyrocket. Is that what we want as a community? That’s the whole purpose of our group, trying to educate the voter on what the impact will be.”
In Blount County currently there are 6 outlets where wine may be purchased, if this measure passes it is expected that number will increase to 50 outlets.
The Daily Times article properly identified Tipton with the final two paragraphs.
Tipton is co-owner of Topside Liquor and Spirits in Alcoa. CLCAS does not downplay the financial interest of its members in the outcome of the proposal, he said.
“If anybody says that either side doesn’t have a vested interest, they are wrong,” Tipton said, adding that his committee’s goal is to educate the public on the possible ramifications of the law, whatever the decision of the voters. “We feel like it is misleading in the fact that the public, most of the people, has not been aware of what constitutes a food store.”
You can anticipate that I will be digging into this some more of this issue with a couple of follow up posts about a) with greater availability to wine has on the effects of underage consumption and b) increased availability of high alcohol content, inexpensive wine and any other effects I consider beneficial to you.
As you readers have become accustomed to, I just work to give both sides so that you are informed on what you are being asked to decide, your decision is the foundation for how our society works.
