Small business is one of the cornerstones of the American economy and our way of life. The idea that anyone can create and build a legacy for their family, regardless of background, is what this nation was founded on. Small community-based wine and liquor stores all across New York are no different.
For the approximately 4,000 liquor stores in the state, many are operated by second or even third-generation store owners pursuing that dream.
As a third-generation Brooklyn store owner myself who has inherited the passion for this industry from my father and grandfather, my store and its local workforce serve as a reflection of our community.
Now, big business interests have propelled legislation in Albany seeking to take control of the supply and sale of wine to benefit the biggest and richest grocery store conglomerates, at the expense of small businesses like ours.
This harmful legislation (A1328/S1279) would enable the sale of wine in grocery stores, which serves the special interest of deep-pocketed, mega corporations like Wegmans and Amazon’s Whole Foods that truly have no connection to communities across New York State.
They say it is in the name of consumer convenience, “bolstering” New York’s wine and supermarket industries.
In reality, this bill is a punch in the face for thousands of small businesses and store employees, plus the thousands of union warehouse, sales, delivery and distillery workers we should protect.
Like so many small retail business owners across New York State, I have owned and operated my store for decades, it’s my livelihood and legacy.
Yet, community-based wine and liquor stores are sadly some of the few remaining small businesses in the fabric of what makes New York so unique. Don’t you remember when our neighborhoods were also filled with paint stores, hardware merchants, fish stores and local butchers? The movement to big box stores has harmed so many thousands of local merchants and left countless empty storefronts.
Each small business liquor store employs an average of about 10 workers, with another 5,000 unionized sales, warehouse and delivery workers servicing these stores.
Not only would wine in grocery stores put store owners out of business, but it would also jeopardize the New York wine industry that employs thousands more. At every step of a complex supply chain – production, shipping, fulfillment, stocking and sales – there are jobs on the line.
Countless New Yorkers have their own memories of their favorite local store going under, as one single mega store moved in. Many of those once vibrant storefronts remain shuttered years later. No neighborhood wants or needs more empty storefronts.
A recent deceptive poll tried to insinuate that New Yorkers wanted this change. However, a report uncovered that the poll failed to disclose that funding for the survey question was underwritten by the supermarket lobbying groups.
They should have asked, would New Yorkers want this if they knew it meant closing over 4,000 local wine and liquor stores across our state and leaving over 40,000 unemployed and unable to feed their families?
This nightmare scenario has been playing out in real time in other states. In Colorado, where wine in grocery stores was passed in 2022, stores are closing and shedding staff after seeing sales decline up to 40% and customers down by half. Experts believe as many as 400 local spirit stores will close by 2026.
New York has curated decades of careful regulation in the wine and liquor industry to create a system that safeguards communities, prohibits the sale of liquor to minors and establishes a multi-layered sales and distribution network employing thousands with good-paying jobs.
Small local liquor retailers offer an unmatched selection and personalized customer experience. On the other hand, expect grocery stores not to add any new jobs if they could sell wine.
This poorly conceived legislation is all about enriching big box stores and their owners at the unfortunate expense of local workers and small businesses. New York’s political leaders must understand that the reason why the Empire State is at the top of the wine industry is because of the support for small business stores. We ask fellow New Yorkers to stand with small shop owners and thousands of families whose livelihoods depend upon jobs at local stores.
Michael Correra is the owner of Michael-Towne Wines & Spirits in Brooklyn Heights and the executive director of the Metropolitan Package Store Association, representing 3,500 small business wine and liquor stores across New York.
