OKC Chamber now supporting grocery store wine/beer sales

[bombermwc]

The liquor stores shouldn't really be worried about losing sales. Why? Because what stock boy at the grocery store is going to know anything about wine pairings? The main liquor is still at the liquor store AND they'll have wine. Unless the grocery store happens to have exactlly what i want, then i'm still going to have to go to a liquor store. I go to Andy's on 29th in MWC. They know exactlly where every bottle is, what it goes with, what you should use to cook/bake, etc. They are extremely knowledgeable (more so than any other liquor store ive been to). I'm not going to stop going there just because Crest can carry wine-in-a-box.

[GaryOKC6]

The liquor stores shouldn't really be worried about losing sales. Why? Because what stock boy at the grocery store is going to know anything about wine pairings? The main liquor is still at the liquor store AND they'll have wine. Unless the grocery store happens to have exactlly what i want, then i'm still going to have to go to a liquor store. I go to Andy's on 29th in MWC. They know exactlly where every bottle is, what it goes with, what you should use to cook/bake, etc. They are extremely knowledgeable (more so than any other liquor store ive been to). I'm not going to stop going there just because Crest can carry wine-in-a-box.

I agree. Beer is a good example. I buy it in a convenience store because i do not want to hassle with going into the grocery store for it. The same will apply to me with wine. I will still go to my local liquor store for wine. It is more convenient and I know the local owners.

[jedicurt]

That is not actually correct. I was at a meeting this week and Carl Edwards, Chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber was the speaker. He was asked about the Chambers position on this and was very clear that the Chamber has not taken any position on this issue at all. Their board is going to vote on it at a future meeting. He has a lot of integrity and I do not doubt anthing that he says. Also 2 of the largest liquor distributors sit on the board of the Chamber.

by your logic... if the grocery stores wanted wine badly enough then they should have been organized enough by now to get people to vote on it rather than having to have the chamber of OKC to have to help them... but they do want it badly, and are a much larger group than the liquor store owners, and still can't get it done... hence why this is even being talked about

so which part of what i said is not correct? are the grocery stores not asking the chamber to help? i never said that the OKC chamber is going to help them... i said that by his logic, the grocers should have been able to do it without the help of the OKC Chamber... well they tried that and the legislative committee said no... so now they are asking the chamber for a vote, hence having the have the chamber of OKC help them.

the only other part that could be not accurate would either be the statement that the grocery stores want it badly.... or that they are a much larger lobbying group than the liquor store owners of Oklahoma....

while i found your information to be useful and very helpful, i'm still not sure what part of my statement you thought was not correct

[Bunty]

by your logic... If the grocery stores wanted wine badly enough then they should have been organized enough by now to get people to vote on it rather than having to have the chamber of okc to have to help them... But they do want it badly, and are a much larger group than the liquor store owners, and still can't get it done... Hence why this is even being talked about

exactly!

[OKCTalker]

Liquor stores would surely already be free to open on Sunday, if enough owners wanted them to be open. The same goes with car dealers. I think not being free to open on Sunday, if desired, is pretty silly and anti freedom, but plenty of Oklahomans sure seem to respect it highly as a time honored cultural tradition.

Churchill once said that the traditions of the Royal Navy were "sodomy, rum and the lash."

[Larry OKC]

While I can understand where the "no liquor on Sunday" thing comes from, what is up with the car dealership Sunday ban?

[GaryOKC6]

so which part of what i said is not correct? are the grocery stores not asking the chamber to help? i never said that the OKC chamber is going to help them... i said that by his logic, the grocers should have been able to do it without the help of the OKC Chamber... well they tried that and the legislative committee said no... so now they are asking the chamber for a vote, hence having the have the chamber of OKC help them.

the only other part that could be not accurate would either be the statement that the grocery stores want it badly.... or that they are a much larger lobbying group than the liquor store owners of Oklahoma....

while i found your information to be useful and very helpful, i'm still not sure what part of my statement you thought was not correct

Nothing really directed at you. I was referring to the Chamber pushing the issue thats all. Although it should be an interesting campaign when both sides start going at it.

[jedicurt]

Nothing really directed at you. I was referring to the Chamber pushing the issue thats all. Although it should be an interesting campaign when both sides start going at it.

sorry... there are always so many personal attacks on these forums that i guess i jumped the gun... it should be very interesting, indeed

[Bunty]

While I can understand where the "no liquor on Sunday" thing comes from, what is up with the car dealership Sunday ban?

That's a big mystery, especially since it was felt it had to be singled out. Apparently, it wasn't felt too sinful to buy a boat on Sunday. But why should it be so sinful before God to buy a car on Sunday? A car might be needed to be bought on Sunday to get to church. Somehow it's less sinful to buy a toy car at Wal-Mart on Sunday.

[Just the facts]

The liquor stores shouldn't really be worried about losing sales. Why? Because what stock boy at the grocery store is going to know anything about wine pairings? The main liquor is still at the liquor store AND they'll have wine. Unless the grocery store happens to have exactlly what i want, then i'm still going to have to go to a liquor store. I go to Andy's on 29th in MWC. They know exactlly where every bottle is, what it goes with, what you should use to cook/bake, etc. They are extremely knowledgeable (more so than any other liquor store ive been to). I'm not going to stop going there just because Crest can carry wine-in-a-box.

Clearly you have never lived in a state where wine can be sold in a grocery store. Here in Florida Publix has wine specialist in every location. If your specialist says a wine goes best with a red sauce containing fresh basil guess what, you can go 3 aisles over and get fresh basil. But the issue isn't just about wine in grocery stores; it is about bags of chips and bottle openers in liquor stores as well. Oklahomans have been repressed for so long they forgot what freedom is (or maybe never new).

Wouldn't you rather have store like this instead of Andy's?
http://www.totalwine.com/

[Bunty]

Not being free for reasons based on nothing but nonsense is quite a Oklahoma cultural tradition, but at least they are slowly been rejected as the decades go by, for instance, tattoo application is now lawful.

[bradh]

There isn't a grocery store in OKC that would ever do anything like that wine set up. This city blows for grocery options.

[wallbreaker]

There isn't a grocery store in OKC that would ever do anything like that wine set up. This city blows for grocery options.

That may be true, but walmart would take all the barefoot, leaping horse, blackstone, and other mainstream wines and take all the business. So now liquor stores would lose their core profit points. And once those stores go, rather than having good selection with people who know what they're selling, we'll be left with wal-mart selling 10-15 crap wines, and most rare/special wines not being available here...

Lots of texas folks drive to OK for wine and liquor for a reason.

[ljbab728]

That may be true, but walmart would take all the barefoot, leaping horse, blackstone, and other mainstream wines and take all the business. So now liquor stores would lose their core profit points. And once those stores go, rather than having good selection with people who know what they're selling, we'll be left with wal-mart selling 10-15 crap wines, and most rare/special wines not being available here...

Lots of texas folks drive to OK for wine and liquor for a reason.

So how do liquor store still survive in other states which have that option? I've visited many such states and have never seen a lack of liquor stores with good selections and people who know what they're selling.

[wallbreaker]

So how do liquor store still survive in other states which have that option?

They raise prices on spirits. Unintended consequences and all that.

[GaryOKC6]

My friend, there are 5 grocery stores within a 5 minute walk of my place and you can't imagine the wine selection. Small stores doesn't take anything away...they make huge profits where only liquor stores currently compete.

Do you also think that we should unilaterally prohibit stores from selling meats so that butcher shops can make a come-back? I can't see any evidence that shows that allowing grocery stories to sell wine reduces my selection. In fact, my experience is 100% opposite. I have never seen, nor frankly bought, so much wine!

I totally agree Sid. There does not seem to be any issue in the other states that surround Oklahoma. I believe that there are only 2 or three states left in the country that sell 3.2 beer which is ridiculous. It seems that the liquor stores will need to adapt. If they need to charge a little more for the spirits then so be it.

[wallbreaker]

I totally agree Sid. There does not seem to be any issue in the other states that surround Oklahoma. I believe that there are only 2 or three states left in the country that sell 3.2 beer which is ridiculous. It seems that the liquor stores will need to adapt. If they need to charge a little more for the spirits then so be it.

Why? Paying more money for liquor is worth picking up wine and beer at the grocery store? I pass 3 liquor stores on the way to any grocery store I can get to. I can get to liquor stores quicker and get in and out quicker. Why should I pay more for liquor for the inconvenience of buying wine and beer at grocery.

Another thing that concerns me, is that if they allow wine and beer sales in grocery stores, will they still limit the sales to 9 pm, and none on Sundays? Right now, I can run on Sunday and buy a case of beer (albeit 3.2). It's better than nothing, and is good for game day. If they don't change the blue laws at the same time, but all the 3.2 beer leaves Oklahoma, will this kill getting beer on a Sunday (or late night beer runs?).

If we're going to change liquor laws, I'm more concerned with getting cold beer from liquor stores (yeah, try getting that past the 7-11 lobby), and 7 day a week liquor store's.

At least we don't have the cluster-you-know-what that is Texas's liquor laws.

[okcpulse]

I totally agree Sid. There does not seem to be any issue in the other states that surround Oklahoma. I believe that there are only 2 or three states left in the country that sell 3.2 beer which is ridiculous. It seems that the liquor stores will need to adapt. If they need to charge a little more for the spirits then so be it.

Incorrect. Two of Oklahoma's neighboring states allow only 3.2 beer in general retail stores, Kansas and Colorado. Utah and Minnesota also allow only 3.2 beer.

[Bunty]

Incorrect. Two of Oklahoma's neighboring states allow only 3.2 beer in general retail stores, Kansas and Colorado. Utah and Minnesota also allow only 3.2 beer.

So why is it so important to keep 3.2% beer alive and well? Or is it simply a well accepted cultural tradition to have 3.2 beer around and will be as difficult to get rid of as the Oklahoma law that bans car sales on Sunday?

[bluedogok]

It's important to some in the alcohol biz and therefor important to some legislators.

Here's and article in today's Denver Business Journal about Breckenridge Brewery opening up a new brewery outside Colorado because of some lobbyists who want to maintain the status quo.

Denver Business Journal - Breckenridge Brewery will take new brewery, jobs to East Coast

[ThomPaine]

Clearly you have never lived in a state where wine can be sold in a grocery store. Here in Florida Publix has wine specialist in every location. If your specialist says a wine goes best with a red sauce containing fresh basil guess what, you can go 3 aisles over and get fresh basil. But the issue isn't just about wine in grocery stores; it is about bags of chips and bottle openers in liquor stores as well. Oklahomans have been repressed for so long they forgot what freedom is (or maybe never new).

Wouldn't you rather have store like this instead of Andy's?
http://www.totalwine.com/

Almost every Whole Foods I've been to outside of OKC and Tulsa have a similar set up, to include tastings.

[bluedogok]

Almost every Whole Foods I've been to outside of OKC and Tulsa have a similar set up, to include tastings.

I know the one that I went to in Boston a few years ago had no alcohol in it, all alcohol was still sold in package stores only at that time. I don't think they have changed Massachusetts law since then either.

[soonerguru]

Incorrect. Two of Oklahoma's neighboring states allow only 3.2 beer in general retail stores, Kansas and Colorado. Utah and Minnesota also allow only 3.2 beer.

Minnesota? Are you sure about that? They serve babies beer in bottles up there.

[soonerguru]

They raise prices on spirits. Unintended consequences and all that.

Why? What a ridiculous statement. Liquor stores are not going to raise prices in the face of added competition. And if they are stupid enough to do so, they'll go away.

[soonerguru]

That may be true, but walmart would take all the barefoot, leaping horse, blackstone, and other mainstream wines and take all the business. So now liquor stores would lose their core profit points. And once those stores go, rather than having good selection with people who know what they're selling, we'll be left with wal-mart selling 10-15 crap wines, and most rare/special wines not being available here...

Lots of texas folks drive to OK for wine and liquor for a reason.

"Lots" of Texas folk drive here to buy liquor? You're killing me now. Seriously, you have a great sense of humor! Texas does have some bone dry counties, so I could see the desperate souls who live in those locales coming across the border to shop, but your general point is laughable.

Are you really suggesting that cities like Dallas and Austin don't have liquor stores with quality wine selections? If so, you should get out more.