Author: | Patrick Crowley |
Date: | Dec 27, 2008 |
OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is one of 18 states that does not allow wine sales in grocery stores, but a coalition is looking to change that soon.
Article originally posted by (Huntington, WV) Herald-Dispatch directed to: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1671882138/Ky-group-pushing-for-wine-sales-in-groceries
Ky. group pushing for wine sales in groceries
December 21, 2008 @ 08:34 AM
Herald-Dispatch.com
OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is one of 18 states that does not allow wine sales in grocery stores, but a coalition is looking to change that soon.
The Kentucky Food with Wine Coalition announced Dec. 16 that more than 100 Kentucky supermarkets will hold a petition drive to gauge support for allowing them to sell wine.
The drive will help the coalition’s effort to allow wine to be sold in groceries, spokesman Luke Schmidt said.
“Ultimately what we want to be able to do is to demonstrate that consumers across the state want to see this law change,” Schmidt told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
But traditional liquor stores don’t want Kroger, Houchens and other grocery stores jumping on their wagon.
Changing the law would give grocery stores an unfair advantage, said Karen Lentz, a lobbyist for the Kentucky Liquor Retailer Coalition.
“It’s the fact that they can already do this, as long as they comply with the current rules that are set out for anybody who sells wine,” Lentz said. “This is a heavily regulated product that should remain heavily regulated.”
Rep. Larry Clark, a Louisville Democrat, filed a bill this year to allow for the expansion of wine sales to grocery stores. The bill made its way to the House Licensing and Occupations Committee but didn’t receive a hearing.
As Kentucky farmers make the switch from traditional crops, particularly tobacco, to grape and wine production, allowing wine sales in groceries will be a benefit to Kentucky’s agriculture industry, the coalition argues.
“It’s early, but my understanding is that it’s been very positively received by shoppers,” Schmidt said.
But Lentz says that grocery stores would have fewer regulations about selling wine than liquor stores, like the age of the salesperson, if the law was changed.
“This is not about convenience,” he said. “This is about public policy for a heavily regulated product. … Package stores are experts in selling alcohol.”
At least 40 grocery stores in Kentucky already sell liquor, but they have to abide by the same rules as liquor stores, like having the liquor and wine section accessible only through its own entrance, Lentz said.
I am not sympathetic to the Northern Kentucky legislators who have adopted a “no-way, never” attitude about increasing the state’s cigarette tax to help fill a huge hole in the state budget. I’d go so far as to say it’s irresponsible to slam the door if the alternative is gutting the state’s ability to fund education. Plus, the higher tax discourages smoking, and we all pay the price of smoking-related illnesses.
Article originally posted by The Cincinnati Enquirer directed to: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=blog16&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a83aea494-326d-4fa2-b9bd-a7c79549d035Post%3a5505b894-6647-4616-81ba-baa89de06bbe&sid=sitelife.cincinnati.com
KY budget woes: Koenig has a point
Posted by DennisHetzelat 12/19/2008 4:24 PM EST on Cincinnati.com |
I am not sympathetic to the Northern Kentucky legislators who have adopted a “no-way, never” attitude about increasing the state’s cigarette tax to help fill a huge hole in the state budget. I’d go so far as to say it’s irresponsible to slam the door if the alternative is gutting the state’s ability to fund education. Plus, the higher tax discourages smoking, and we all pay the price of smoking-related illnesses.
A lot of other worthy programs are on the block, too. Our story todaydescribed a woe-fest when Gov. Steve Beshear held a town meeting in Dry Ridge to discuss the state’s budget problems and the difficult decisions he and the Legislature will face. But it’s a sign of how far Kentucky has come that so many in this conservative, agricultural area were willing to support the cigarette tax increase. More than 400 people packed the auditorium of Grant County High School.
However, Republican State Rep. Adam Koenig, one of the more thoughtful and open-minded members of the NKY delegation, also made a good point when he said it doesn’t appear Beshear is living up to his rhetoric that everything should be on the table when the budget situation is this bad.
“Everything” doesn’t appear to include a short-term experiment in removing prevailing wage requirements from school construction projects, which would save millions. Koenig also is right in noting that allowing Kentucky grocery stores to sell wine as well as beer in places where local rules allow it would immediately start generating additional revenue — perhaps as much as $50 million a year through increased sales.
On prevailing wage, Beshear is correct that reform wouldn’t have an immediate impact on state revenue. But it sure would save local school districts a lot of money to simply let the free market determine wage rates for projects. A willingness to at least discuss something that has been a sacred cow for the Democrats would put Beshear on the high road over reticent Republicans.
Video news story announcing the launch of the statewide petition drive by members of the Food with Wine Coalition to change existing law to allow grocery stores to sell wine.
Video news story about the launch of the Food with Wine Coalition’s statewide petition drive to allow grocery stores to sell wine.
The Kentucky Food with Wine Coalition announced Tuesday that more than 100 supermarkets around the state will hold a petition drive to gauge support for allowing them to sell wine.
Article originally posted by the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer directed to: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=12525DA0A8BFE280&p_docnum=4&s_dlid=DL0110120219235829867&s_ecproduct=SBK-W3&s_ecprodtype=&s_trackval=&s_siteloc=&s_referrer=&s_subterm=Subscription%20until%3A%2012%2F09%2F2010%202%3A08%20PM&s_docsbal=&s_subexpires=12%2F09%2F2010%202%3A08%20PM&s_docstart=3&s_docsleft=0&s_docsread=3&s_username=lbschmidt@lbschmidt.com&s_accountid=AC0110052614253132185&s_upgradeable=no
Group pushing for wine sales in groceries Petition drive designed as show of support
Owen Covington Messenger-Inquirer
Published: December 17, 2008
The Kentucky Food with Wine Coalition announced Tuesday that more than 100 supermarkets around the state will hold a petition drive to gauge support for allowing them to sell wine. Coalition spokesman Luke Schmidt said the drive will help the group’s push to allow wine to be sold in supermarkets. Kentucky is one of 16 states that does not allow wine sales in grocery stores.
“Ultimately what we want to be able to do is to demonstrate that consumers across the state want to see this law change,” Schmidt said.
Shoppers in Owensboro are already weighing in.
The city’s three IGA stores owned by Houchens Industries of Bowling Green offered customers a chance to sign a petition Friday and Saturday, and the three Kroger stores will be asking customers to sign the petition through the end of the month.
The effort prompted a rebuke from the Kentucky Liquor Retailer Coalition, with lobbyist Karen Lentz saying that a change in the law would create an unfair advantage for grocery stores.
“It’s the fact that they can already do this, as long as they comply with the current rules that are set out for anybody who sells wine,” Lentz said. “This is a heavily regulated product that should remain heavily regulated.”
The Food with Wine Coalition is pitching the change in the law as a way to boost sales of wine in general and Kentucky wine specifically, to provide more convenience for grocery shoppers and to join the 34 states that already allow wine sales in grocery stores.
Helping support the wine industry is also a benefit to agriculture in Kentucky, which is moving away from traditional products like tobacco and into grape and wine production, the coalition argues.
“It’s early, but my understanding is that it’s been very positively received by shoppers,” Schmidt said.
Rep. Larry Clark, a Louisville Democrat, filed a bill this year to allow for the expansion of wine sales to grocery stores, but that bill was sent to the House Licensing and Occupations Committee and didn’t receive a hearing.
Schmidt said the coalition, which is a not-for-profit organization of grocery stores formed in 2007, is still working on a piece of legislation and finding a lawmaker to carry it, but those details should come soon.
“It’s still a little bit early to speculate on that, but our intent is absolutely to bring a bill in the legislature, probably in January or February,” Schmidt said.
If Kentucky changes its law regarding the sale of wine in grocery stores, it would be one of the few successful pushes in the country in decades.
Lentz said the last time a state changed its laws regarding wine sales in certain businesses was 23 years ago, and most laws in the area date to the end of Prohibition.
At least 40 grocery stores in Kentucky already sell liquor, but they, like liquor stores, must comply with regulations such as having the liquor and wine section accessible only through its own entrance and only to people 21 or older, Lentz said.
The legislative change would allow grocery stores fewer regulations over selling wine than liquor stores, such as the age of the salesperson, Lentz said.
The state doesn’t let liquor retailers employ cashiers younger than 20 years old, while grocery stores don’t have that limit, Lentz said.
“This is not about convenience,” Lentz said. “This is about public policy for a heavily regulated product. … Package stores are experts in selling alcohol.”
Video news stories from the launch of the statewide grocers’ petition drive to allow grocery stores to sell wine in Kentucky (WCPO-TV/Cincinnati; WKRC-TV/Cincinnati) – December 17, 2008
Video on-air guest editorial of Luke Schmidt in support of the Food with Wine Coalition’s efforts to revise existing Kentucky law to allow grocery store wine sales (WAVE-TV/Louisville) – March 18, 2007
Video on-air rebuttal of the Food with Wine Coalition’s guest editorial (WAVE-TV/Louisville) – March 25, 2007
A Kentucky grocers group has launched a petition drive as it seeks to change a state law so wine could be sold in grocery stores, a change some liquor retailers say is a bad idea.
Article originally posted by the Lexington Herald-Leader directed to: http://www.kentucky.com/2008/12/17/628699/grocery-store-group-pushing-petitions.html
Grocery store group pushing petitions for easier wine sales
Herald-Leader Staff Report
A Kentucky grocers group has launched a petition drive as it seeks to change a state law so wine could be sold in grocery stores, a change some liquor retailers say is a bad idea.
Currently, in Kentucky counties where alcohol sales are allowed, beer but not wine or spirits can be sold in grocery stores.
The Food with Wine Coalition will conduct the petition drive in 111 stores in 28 counties and on its Web site, www.foodwithwine.org/allowingwine.htm.
The Food with Wine Coalition is a not-for-profit organization established in 2007. Grocers involved in the petition drive include Kroger, Slone’s Signature Markets and IGA.
A bill to change the law died in committee during the most recent legislative session.
The coalition contends that allowing wine sales in groceries would benefit consumers, who they say want the option of buying wine for their meals, and Kentucky’s burgeoning wine industry. The group contends that such a change also would mean more tax revenue for the state.
“Consumers have been asking grocery store managers across Kentucky for the opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine to go with their meal. The coalition’s effort is in direct response to what our customers have been asking for,” said Luke Schmidt, a Louisville-based consultant retained by the Food with Wine Coalition.
Roger Leasor, president of Liquor Barn, a large liquor and wine retailer with stores in Louisville and Lexington, says one potential problem is grocery stores using employees who are minors to run the checkout counters.
“It should be adults selling it,” he said.
Grocery stores already can get a license to sell wine and liquor if they provide a separate entrance to that part of the store, where minors are not allowed to work. A store employee of legal age also is required on beer sales.
Danny Meyer of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Kentucky said that group is officially neutral on the potential change.
Earlier this year, Liquor Barn tried to stop stocking wines from Kentucky vineyards that supported a change in the law.
Leasor later reversed his position, saying he didn’t want to “fight with my neighbors.”
He said the change proposed by the coalition really isn’t about Kentucky wineries. “They want to make it about Kentucky wine, but it is not.”
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2008/12/17/628699/grocery-store-group-pushing-petitions.html#ixzz16xvKDIrf
Louisville, Kentucky (December 16, 2008) – Kentucky’s grocers today launched a statewide petition drive to assist their customers in communicating their support for a change in state law to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties where the sale of alcoholic beverages by the package is currently allowed.
Initiative Responds to Consumer Demand to Purchase Wine with Food
Louisville, Kentucky (December 16, 2008) – Kentucky’s grocers today launched a statewide petition drive to assist their customers in communicating their support for a change in state law to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties where the sale of alcoholic beverages by the package is currently allowed.
Kentucky is one of only 16 states that do not currently allow consumers to purchase wine in grocery stores. Each of Kentucky’s border states (with the exception of Tennessee) already allows consumers this fundamental choice.
Lifestyles have changed and wine has become an accepted part of a balanced and healthy diet when consumed in moderation. Nationally, in the 34 states which already allow grocery store wine sales consumer demand has propelled wine to the second fastest growing product category in grocery stores after bottled water. Today, many consumers expect the opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine to pair with their meal. Consumers in these states like the convenience of making one stop for all of their meal needs – including wine. It saves time, money and gas.
Luke B. Schmidt, a Louisville-based consultant retained by the Food with Wine Coalition stated, “Consumers have been asking grocery store managers across Kentucky for the opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine to go with their meal. The Coalition’s effort is in direct response to what our customers have been asking for.”
The petition drive will be conducted in 111 stores located in 39 cities in 28 counties where the sale of alcoholic beverages by the package is currently allowed (please see store list which follows this page), including: California Marketplace, Kroger, Houchens, IGA, Pic-Pac, Remke Markets, Riverside SuperValu, Slone’s Signature Markets, Stewart’s Foodliner, Sureway Supermarkets, and ValuMarket. The petition drive will also be supported with newspaper ads in selected markets. The petition drive’s dates and hours will vary by store, and you must be 21 years of age to sign the petition.
For those Kentuckians that don’t live near one of the participating stores but would still like to sign the petition, they may do so by visiting the Food with Wine Coalition Web site (http://www.foodwithwine.org/allowingwine.htm) and click on the link at the bottom of the page.
Schmidt commented that in addition to meeting consumer demand, there are also several additional reasons that support changing the law, including:
- The issue is pro-consumer in that it expands choice and competition in the wine marketplace
- The issue is pro-agriculture as it will add between 300 and 400 new sales outlets for Kentucky’s growing wine industry and will significantly increase the demand for Kentucky-grown grapes
- The issue is pro-Kentucky in that it will generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for the Commonwealth without adding a new tax or increasing an existing tax rate – a benefit which will extend to both wet and dry counties
“We encourage Kentuckians across the Commonwealth to take this first step in demonstrating their support for changing the law by signing the petition the next time that you shop in your favorite grocery store,” said Schmidt.
The Food with Wine Coalition is a not for profit organization that was established in 2007 by several members of Kentucky’s grocery store industry. The Coalition’s purpose is to educate and inform those living in Kentucky as to the advantages of allowing grocery stores to sell wine in wet and moist counties. Interested parties are invited to learn more about the issue by visiting the Coalition’s Web site (www.foodwithwine.org).
It doesn’t make any sense why beer is sold in local grocery stores, but the sale of wine is prohibited. In six of the seven states that border Kentucky, shoppers can purchase wine in grocery stores. We don’t see why that can’t take place in Kentucky.
Article originally posted by The (Bowling Green) Daily News directed to: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=123FDB0D78364DF8&p_docnum=6&s_orderid=NB0110120215065928666&s_dlid=DL0110120215074328815&s_ecproduct=DOC&s_ecprodtype=&s_trackval=&s_siteloc=&s_referrer=&s_username=lbschmidt@lbschmidt.com&s_accountid=AC0109061001491619223&s_upgradeable=no
Allow wine sales at grocery stores in state
the Daily News
Published: October 22, 2008
It doesn’t make any sense why beer is sold in local grocery stores, but the sale of wine is prohibited.
In six of the seven states that border Kentucky, shoppers can purchase wine in grocery stores. We don’t see why that can’t take place in Kentucky.
Kroger and Bowling Green-based Houchens Industries are pushing to make wine sales legal in groceries here – something state law currently prohibits.
But why? Beer and wine have virtually the same alcohol content, so what’s the difference between selling wine and beer in the same location?
The Food With Wine Coalition is seeking to change the law to allow such sales in areas that are already “wet” or “moist” – in this region, that would only allow sales in Bowling Green and Russellville.
About 400 to 500 stores in Kentucky would be eligible to sell wine if the law is changed. Currently, some grocers such as Kroger can sell liquor and wine, but they have to build a separate building next to the grocery store to do it. This not only is a inconvenience for the costumer, but also a costly project for Kroger to undertake.
Changing the law would add a convenience factor to patrons who frequent Houchens and Kroger stores.
Allowing wine to be sold in stores would also increase wine sales all around – helping Kentucky wineries and bringing in more tax revenue. Luke Schmidt, lobbyist for the coalition, said that statewide the change could produce $55 million in new state new tax revenue – without raising rates – between 2009 and 2013.
It should be noted that the campaign isn’t aimed at selling alcohol where it’s now prohibited, selling hard liquor in grocery stores or allowing Sunday alcohol sales.
There are many good reasons for the sale of wine in grocery stores in this state and we hope that when legislators convene in January for the next session, they will consider these reasons and overturn this outdated law.