Liquor store owners, mostly mom-and-pop shops across the state, have become the biggest obstacle to permanently legalizing to-go cocktails—though they say they’re open to negotiation.
It was early on a recent Tuesday night, but business was relatively brisk at dp, An American Brasserie — a small, upscale bar and restaurant just down the hill from the state Capitol building in Albany.
“Every to-go order had anywhere from two to maybe six cocktails, minimum on every single order,” said Turo, the restaurant’s manager and sommelier. “So that can end up adding a lot to a business.” “We're glad to sit down and work with the restaurants, the taverns and the legislators to work out a deal,” said Stefan Kalogridis, president of the New York State Liquor Store Association, a trade group.Kalogridis owns Colvin Wine Merchants, a small wine-and-liquor shop in a shopping plaza on one of Albany’s main drags.
“They were becoming a liquor store, and that's not fair to us if they become a liquor store,” he said. It was a win for liquor stores, who had raised a host of issues with state lawmakers – everything from concerns about restaurants infringing on their turf, to the potential for increased drunk driving, to quality of life fears.
They branded the joint effort as the “Last Store on Main Street Coalition,” which was meant to play on their small-business roots. It worked: Lawmakers never got on board, wine never made it into grocery stores and grocers haven’t made a major push since.