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Montgomery County Liquor Laws


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County Executive Douglas M. Duncan is seeking applicants to fill one public member vacancy on the Alcoholic Beverages Advisory Board. The incumbent is eligible to apply for reappointment.

The five-member board consists of one bona fide holder of either a Class B or C beer, wine and liquor license, one bona fide license holder of any other class license in Montgomery County, and three public members. All members must be Montgomery County residents and registered voters. The board recommends improvements in alcoholic beverage control and enforcement to the County Executive. It also advises on the operation of the retail liquor stores and methods of distribution.

Members serve four-year terms without compensation. Meetings are generally held bimonthly in Rockville on a weekday morning at 9 a.m. for approximately one hour.

Applicants should write by March 24, to County Executive Douglas M. Duncan at the Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850 or e-mail Douglas.duncan@montgomerycountymd.gov. A brief resume, including home and work telephone numbers, should be included. Members of County boards, committees and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time. Members of this Board are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended.

Duncan's appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council. Applications of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.

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The way they do business is totally stupid. One delivery a week, where in DC there are daily deliveries. They only deliver full cases of wine and liquor, where in the District you can get single bottles delivered if you want. COD, where in the District you have 45 days credit to pay. In Washington, I can get same day deliveries if I need it. Montgomery County is a disaster for restaurants. Plus, the coup de grace, the prices are 30% higher than just across the border in DC. No wonder Paul's on Wisconsin Ave. is so busy all the time.

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I don't keep up with this topic much, so forgive me if I'm asking a question that everybody else knows the answer to.

Is there any hope that the dreadful MoCo liquor laws will change? Not just as a result of the ABC commission roster, but generally, is there any reason to think this issue has any traction?

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I don't keep up with this topic much, so forgive me if I'm asking a question that everybody else knows the answer to. 

Is there any hope that the dreadful MoCo liquor laws will change?  Not just as a result of the ABC commission roster, but generally, is there any reason to think  this issue has any traction?

I'd apply, but since I'm all for abolishing the County as wholesaler I don't think I'd even be considered.

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I don't keep up with this topic much, so forgive me if I'm asking a question that everybody else knows the answer to. 

Is there any hope that the dreadful MoCo liquor laws will change?  Not just as a result of the ABC commission roster, but generally, is there any reason to think  this issue has any traction?

When I was working there, you had one day assigned that you were allowed to call your orders in. The phone would ring and you would immediately be put on hold with WHFS blasting in your ear as the hold music. I'm not a heavy metal fan, but you had to listen just in case someone answered. These days I understand they take orders by email. Small improvement. I had a problem once with Labatt's beer. I called the sales rep. He came by the restaurant, took one look at the cases of his beer and announced: "This beer is 2 years old". So much for first in, first out.

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I'd apply, but since I'm all for abolishing the County as wholesaler I don't think I'd even be considered.

I don't think you should necessarily assume that. From what I understand about the way the process works is that the current chair of the commission interviews the candidates, and whittles it down to a few. The whole commission then interviews, and makes a recommendation to Duncan. From what I understand, Duncan normally rubber stamps the choice of the commission.

You're assuming that the commission WANTS the current system. Maybe they're looking for people to help them get out of the system they're in.

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I regularly commit a felony (or is it a misdemeanor?) by driving the 2 miles into the District to buy wine (though now that I know where Jake and Rick sell their stash of fine South African wines, I'll be crossing the bridge on a regular basis). Yes, I know there are some shops in MoCo that sell wine and beer, but then I still have to make a separate trip to buy spirits.

I don't get it. One of the richest, most sophisticated counties in the country, and they have this arcane government-controlled system of selling liquor.

I have no idea if the Advisory Board is even tasked with assessing this idiot policy. I guess the County Council doesn't get enough complaints to worry about it, and that in turn is probably because we're all driving into DC, VA, or other Maryland counties. I have to go to Arlington anyway (I hear a steak calling my name...).

Ellen

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It didn't sound like MoCo was willing to consider changing it either, being that it brings them in about $22 mil a year.

It brings them far more than $22 million. The most disturbing thing about the whole setup is the mindset of controlling alcohol to "protect" the public. You would think that the affluent citizens of Montgomery County would have tossed this archaic crap out the window years ago. The county stores only sell warm beer because, God forbid, you should buy a beer and WANT TO DRINK IT RIGHT AWAY. :lol::unsure:B):) There, protected from impulse drinking! The total lack of service on the part of the County is the other huge problem. Who ever heard of once a week deliveries in 2007? What business except the County hasn't learned that extending credit to people makes them spend more money? It's mind boggling.

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Their vision is very limited. I bought about 300 bottles of wine last year, not one of them from Montgomery County though I live there. So they are loosing that revenue steam.

I live in the county too and I've been in a wine store in the county once in the last year. Didn't buy anything, just asked for some bottle bags to use at a blind tasting.

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Picked up the City Paper on the way to work this morning; the cover article deals with the vagaries of the Montgomery County liquor laws. I've only had a chance to glance through it at this point, but it looks to be a point/counterpoint between restaurant and store owners (Jeff Black is at least one quoted) and the DLC director and his cronies.
Thankfully the article is online now. After reading TedE's post in the News & Media thread, I spent a goodly amount of time Thursday on City Paper's site looking for the article [half the current edition's articles were online, half were NOT].

If you're interested in more comments on this regulatory issue, read the thread "The Grapes are Free."

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Their vision is very limited. I bought about 300 bottles of wine last year, not one of them from Montgomery County though I live there. So they are loosing that revenue steam.
Amen to that (even if my number is probably closer to 150 and a half-dozen cases of beer a year). I do, however, buy liquor there. They often have excellent sales on booze.

I was just thinking about that article and the similar situation with the State Stores in Pennsylvania. I'd like to see a comparison of the price markups between the two since the Director of MoCo system was whining about that.

One big difference is Pennsylvania has the market power to FORCE distributors to cut their prices. Montgomery Co has no comparable market power. How many people in Monkey Cty live more than a 30 minute drive to a jurisdiction where they can get wine and booze in a less regulated retail shop? Because that's what it takes me to get to Total Wine in McLean. It takes me 20 minutes to drive to Ace and Calvert Woodley, and no more than 15 to Magruder's in Chevy Chase.

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One of the other issues with the county being the controling and only legal wholesaler was also pointed out in the article. Restaurants in the county are required to buy from the county. They can't even go over to PG County and buy wine to sell in their restaurant. One of the better restaurants in the area has a disclaimer on the bottom of its wine list that says something to the effect we are sorry the prices are 35% higher than they need to be because of the Montgomery County markup.

I took a look at the list of available wines and prices that one restaurant owner had received from the county. Not only were there very little on the list that could be called interesting, but the prices were higher than I had seen some of the wines on wine lists in DC after the restaurant's markup. I would also note that Montgomery County's wierd laws make it very difficult for a restaurant to present live music. Not impossible, but very difficult. That is why the best clubs are in DC or Virginia. You would think that with the kind of income that is in Monkey county, the county would make it easy for restaurants and clubs to get some of it.

Additionally, the big issue in MC is not that they are state stores, but that they are the only legal wholesaler. There are plenty of places that sell alcohol in addition to the county's retail operations, but they can't use any distributor except the county. If they don't want to carry it, it don't get carried. Special orders are "difficult" for them so they make it difficult for everyone else.

It is really too bad, because as the article points out, the county does a pretty good job with beer and booze.

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One quote that caught me off guard (emphasis added by me):

Some of the problems Griffin could address immediately, like hiring a new management team and finding employees who actually want to work at the DLC. He also made it a priority, right from the start, to upgrade the county’s stores and move them to better locations. He now has plans to expand and air-condition the warehouse.

I am curious if any restaurants/retailers have had problems with the storage conditions of the county's warehouse. Perhaps I am being naïve, but I know I would be concerned taking delivery in the summer if I knew that the warehouse was not air-conditioned.

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It brings them far more than $22 million.

Not so. $20,698,760 contributed to the general fund in fiscal 2006 (see page 25 of the DLC annual report) which is slightly above both mean and median for the past five years.

Otherwise, as a longtime resident I agree that the county has no business pretending to be in the wine business, and that the mediocre selection of European and American fine dining opportunities is but one consequence of this stupidity. Have car, will drive for dinner (and wine).

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In the Metro section, no less.

Where else would you expect them to put it, the business section? The Metro section is for local stories, and this is a local story. Not as good as the one in the City Paper, but then the Post does not have the attack dog mentality of the City Paper.

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Where else would you expect them to put it, the business section?
umm. Food.

The point being that the two best recent food articles in the Wash Post have been in Metro (this one) and the Front Page (sushi restaurants and chefs) .

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One quote that caught me off guard (emphasis added by me):

I am curious if any restaurants/retailers have had problems with the storage conditions of the county's warehouse. Perhaps I am being naïve, but I know I would be concerned taking delivery in the summer if I knew that the warehouse was not air-conditioned.

I patronize the county stores for cheap Argentine and Chilean wines (esp Alamos and Cousino-Macul), and have bought some at the Randolph Rd store (near the gucci Giant) that were clearly cooked. The store gave me a refund no questions asked. I've had no problems with the White Oak store, but because of my experience at Randolph Rd and knowledge that the warehouse is not air-conditioned, I avoid the stores altogether in the summer months. I keep my fingers crossed at other times for rapid turnover in the warehouse.

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umm. Food.

The point being that the two best recent food articles in the Wash Post have been in Metro (this one) and the Front Page (sushi restaurants and chefs) .

This was a wine article, and the Post's Food section has practically abandoned wine. Sure there is the wine of the week, but there is no serious discussion about wine at all. I used to love the Wednesday paper when Ben G. was writing every week, but it just isn't the same as it was. Personally I think the Food secrtion is one of the weakest of the weekly sections the Post has.

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Taking over the conn from Kliman for last week's Washingtonian chat, our own Dave McIntyre had this little factoid to share:

"Montgomery County is ranked by The Wine Institute - the California trade organization - as the worst jurisdiction in the entire country for its restrictions on wine retailers and restaurants."

BTW, love the column Dave. Rocks couldn't have passed the reins over to a finer correspondent.

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Bump.

This year, two public seats are open. Read below or click here.

Come on, you Monkey County residents - somebody kick in the bi-monthly hour and fix this crap!

Release ID: 08-031

Media Contact: Beth Gochrach, 240.777.2528

For Immediate Release: 3/7/2008 Application Deadline: 3/28/2008

Leggett Seeks Applicants for Alcoholic Beverages Advisory Board

County Executive Isiah Leggett is seeking applicants to fill two vacancies on the Alcoholic Beverages Advisory Board for public members. One incumbent is eligible to apply for reappointment.

The five-member board consists of one bona fide holder of either a Class B or C beer, wine and liquor license, one bona fide license holder of any other class license in Montgomery County, and three public members. All members must be Montgomery County residents and registered voters. The board recommends improvements in alcoholic beverage control and enforcement to the County Executive. It also advises on the operation of the retail liquor stores and methods of distribution.

Members serve four-year terms without compensation. Meetings are generally held bimonthly in Rockville on a weekday morning at 9 a.m. for approximately one hour.

Applicants should write by March 28 to County Executive Isiah Leggett at the Executive Office Building, l0l Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850 or e-mail

countyexecutive.boards@montgomerycountymd.gov. A brief resume, including home and work telephone numbers, should be included. Members of County boards, committees and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time. Members of this Board are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended.

Leggett's appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council.

Applications of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.

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Looks like the thread the "Grapes are Free" has been renamed in honor of DC's Merlot-to-Go law.

On the Maryland side of the line, it's that time of year, again, for the General Assembly to think about interstate commerce. An article in this past Friday's Baltimore Business Journal by Sue Schultz states:

A bill introduced in the Senate would create a new $100 license allowing in-state and out-of-state wineries and retailers to ship directly to Maryland consumers and allow wine to be sold online. Under current state law, wine must be shipped to a licensed retailer or wholesaler and picked up by the consumer.

The legislation is being pushed by advocacy group Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws and could bring in an estimated $100,000 in revenue from taxes and fees in fiscal year 2010, according to state figures.

Proponents of the bill — Senate Bill 338 — say that money is needed as the state grapples with a $1.9 billion budget shortfall. They also point to tax money lost when consumers have their wine shipped to Virginia and Washington, D.C., both of which allow wine sent directly to homes.

For a reminder of what happened to Sen. Raskin's efforts last year click here.
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Looks like the thread the "Grapes are Free" has been renamed in honor of DC's Merlot-to-Go law.

On the Maryland side of the line, it's that time of year, again, for the General Assembly to think about interstate commerce. An article in this past Friday's Baltimore Business Journal by Sue Schultz states:For a reminder of what happened to Sen. Raskin's efforts last year click here.

word I get is that it ain't looking good for the bill to get out of the Senate committee. I'm tired of the "Free State" interfering with interstate commerce :rolleyes:

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word I get is that it ain't looking good for the bill to get out of the Senate committee. I'm tired of the "Free State" interfering with interstate commerce :rolleyes:
What and give up the 48 linear feet of mass produced Argentinian Merlot in every country wine shop?
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On the Maryland side of the line, it's that time of year, again, for the General Assembly to think about interstate commerce.

It's getting to be like Groundhog's Day when we get a peek at this year's effort with the Maryland General Assembly. Today, Dave McIntyre reported some good news:

Hopes are high that the Maryland legislature will pass a law this session allowing consumers to buy wine from out-of-state wineries and retailers and have it shipped directly to their homes.

<snip>

Advocates of direct shipping plan to introduce legislation again this week to allow any winery or retailer to ship up to 24 cases of wine a year to any adult Maryland resident. An adult's signature would be required for delivery, and the sale would include the state's 6 percent sales tax.

"I'm optimistic it will pass this year," said Adam Borden, executive director of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws. Last year, 75 of 141 members of the state House of Delegates signed on to the bill as co-sponsors. The bill never made it out of committee. This year, Borden says he believes that support in the committee is firmer and expects more than 100 lawmakers to sign on as co-sponsors.

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Well, there's Maryland, and then there's Montgomery County.

Yeah - and in these times of strained tax revenues, there's no WAY that MoCo will walk away from this cash.

A few notes based on very old posts from above:

- The MoCo Alcohol distribution system may have contributed only $22 million to the general assembly - but note - that's the cash they threw off as Completely Extra and thus a forced contribution back to the general fund. Meanwhile they have a cost of goods sold, warehouse, payroll, fleet and other expenses. Plus they probably get to keep a certain percentage for COLA, growth, bonuses, etc. So the $22million had to be the amount of extra cash they couldn't tuck away somewhere and HAD to give back.

- I worked for a brief time during the summer, long ago, in the warehouse off Shady Grove Rd near Metro. It was not air conditioned and was pretty gross. There was a conveyor running slowly down the middle, and 8' stacks of beer cases on either side. Corona, then Heniken, etc.

About 6 of us on the overnight shift worked on either side of the belt and "owned" the 12 or so brands/stacks in our space. The supervisor would start calling the order Waffle-House style: "4 miller lite can! 7 corona! 3 michelob! 1 amstel light! 1 coors can! 1 coors long neck!" You pulled the cases from your brands and tossed them onto the belt. Some of the guys could toss a case of beer from a longish distance and make it survive - pretty impressive. But a lot was lost - in a shift, it seemed like 5 to 10 cases would "pop" and break when they hit the belt, resulting in a spill that wasnt cleaned up. We'd slosh through it, and drag the mess throughout the little space where we paced. The result was a long-standing layer of muck that was glue-ish and really stank badly of that "skunked beer" smell. This went on through the night, loading truck after truck for morning deliveries.

I lasted 2 nights and ruined one pair of chucks. i was a college kid and just didn't need the money that badly. It is the only job I've ever quit without any other plans, just because I could not return to that place.

I'm sure it is more modern now, that was 20 years ago. But I'm also sure it is still a government owned warehouse in a monopoly business. I don't doubt that MoCo tries to keep up with beverage trends but there's no substitute for competition.

MoCo needs to get out of that business. Tax it heavily if they want, and keep the blue laws tight. But get out of the business.

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I had a case shipped to me recently (to my house in Gorgeous Prince George's). It arrived without any fanfare. I had dreams of being arrested at my door and becoming the face of the battle, but no such thing happened.

I have previously gotten shipments via UPS with a sticker on the outside that says "Contains alcohol, must be signed for by someone 21 or older" with no problems as well--but through a third party shipper at an exorbitant shipping cost fitting a de facto smuggler. These were to my office--in Montgomery County!

I think we will see more of both of the above--no law enforcement agency wants to have to explain their ridiculous stance. Viva la revolucion!

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I had a case shipped to me recently (to my house in Gorgeous Prince George's). It arrived without any fanfare. I had dreams of being arrested at my door and becoming the face of the battle, but no such thing happened.

I have previously gotten shipments via UPS with a sticker on the outside that says "Contains alcohol, must be signed for by someone 21 or older" with no problems as well--but through a third party shipper at an exorbitant shipping cost fitting a de facto smuggler. These were to my office--in Montgomery County!

I think we will see more of both of the above--no law enforcement agency wants to have to explain their ridiculous stance. Viva la revolucion!

In Maryland the crime is to ship the alcohol, not to receive it, however, there is a convoluted way that a winery can legally ship to you well actually ship it to a wholesaler who for a price they deem fair will allow you to pick it up from them.

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cynical me says we'll see

Sadly, looks like cynical wins.

Most Maryland lawmakers, a swath of Democrats and Republicans from across the state, want adults to be able to have bottles of wine shipped to their homes, something that's legal in 37 other states. When it was filed last week, a bill repealing the quarter-century-old direct-shipping ban included the signatures of 106 of the 188 state legislators.

"In a logical world, that kind of support would indicate that a bill is about to pass," said Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat and proponent of what's affectionately known as the "Free the Grapes" campaign.

But the proposal, as in years past, "is not going anywhere," according to the leader of the Senate committee that determines its fate.

Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat and chairwoman of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, said she has too many concerns to bring the bill up for a vote, though six of the nine committee members are co-sponsors.

<snip>

But some proponents of the direct-shipping bill question whether she is too personally tied to the system to be fair. Her husband, Vernon "Tim" Conway, is a city liquor inspector since 1995 who made $67,000 in his position last year, according to city records.

All 188 lawmakers and Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, are up for election this fall, further imperiling the wine-shipping bill. According to a 2008 analysis by The Baltimore Sun, more than 80 percent of state legislators have received campaign contributions from the liquor lobby.

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This is a story that must bring a tear to the eye of any of the members of MoCo's jackbooted liquor control thugocracy.

and then this will make their week:

The head of a key Annapolis committee said Friday that it "will be a challenge" for his panel to endorse an end to a ban on direct wine shipments. Wine-lovers and state wineries have been pushing to overturn the prohibition for years but have been blocked by the state's powerful liquor lobby and lawmakers sympathetic to the industry.

Del. Dereck E. Davis, a Prince George's County Democrat and head of the House Economic Matters Committee, sounded skeptical about the measure's prospects after hearing from both sides Friday. He becomes the second committee chairman to offer a bleak assessment of the proposal: Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat whose health committee is considering the legislation, opposes lifting the ban.

After incurring the wrath of consumers and businesses for standing in the way of mail shipments, Conway is backing another measure that would allow local vineyards to expand their tastings and food service, as well as sell bottles at farmers' markets. The Maryland Winery Modernization Act would also allow the state's 41 licensed wineries to share resources such as bottling and processing.

Conway is the lead sponsor of the measure, which has the backing of 43 of 47 senators. She has described the proposal as a "compromise."

<snip>

Bruce C. Bereano, a lobbyist for the beverage distributors, says the bill is written so broadly that out-of-state liquor stores - not just wineries - would be able to ship to Maryland consumers, "cannibalizing" local liquor stores.

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This is a story that must bring a tear to the eye of any of the members of MoCo's jackbooted liquor control thugocracy.

Given that I have to drive near Philly on Wednesday, I am glad that this scourge on our society has been rectified. I mean what would happen of we drank ALCOHOL that was not properly registered. Jeeze, there might be time to go after the myriad large corporations that kill people with their crappy unclean improperly processes industrial waste I mean marvels of modern science if we didn't harass small businesses that just want people to have fun. I mean this country wasn't founded by folk trying to throw off the yoke of unfair laws and regulations so something like that!

Was it?

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Please excuse the ignorance of a newbie to these parts, but would someone please explain why Trader Joe's cannot sell wine here yet you can buy it at the Giant in White Oaks and at Snider's?

Giant at White Oak has had a beer and wine license for a very long time. Way back when they originally obtained the beer and wine license, chains were permitted to have beer and wine licenses. After they got the beer and wine license, the legislature wrote a new law that said chains were prohibited from having beer,wine and liquor licenses. So this one Giant and a Safeway in Briggs Chaney were allowed to keep theirs, i.e. grandfathered in.

Trader Joe's, a chain - is a relative newcomer and they can not get a beer and wine license.

Snider's on the other hand is not a chain. As an independent it can have a beer and wine license.

I am not sure about Rodman's (two MD locations and one DC all with beer and wine). My hunch is that the ownership is structured such that they are all independent.

Incidentally, the ban on chains applies to all of Maryland. That's why Total Beverage, with its corporate office in Potomac, MD, has no stores in Maryland. Somehow, they seem to own a Corridor Wine & Spirits in Laurel and another place which I think is in White Marsh, Baltimore County. I assume this is done legally through different ownership structures.

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Giant at White Oak has had a beer and wine license for a very long time. Way back when they originally obtained the beer and wine license, chains were permitted to have beer and wine licenses. After they got the beer and wine license, the legislature wrote a new law that said chains were prohibited from having beer,wine and liquor licenses. So this one Giant and a Safeway in Briggs Chaney were allowed to keep theirs, i.e. grandfathered in.

Trader Joe's, a chain - is a relative newcomer and they can not get a beer and wine license.

Snider's on the other hand is not a chain. As an independent it can have a beer and wine license.

I am not sure about Rodman's (two MD locations and one DC all with beer and wine). My hunch is that the ownership is structured such that they are all independent.

Incidentally, the ban on chains applies to all of Maryland. That's why Total Beverage, with its corporate office in Potomac, MD, has no stores in Maryland. Somehow, they seem to own a Corridor Wine & Spirits in Laurel and another place which I think is in White Marsh, Baltimore County. I assume this is done legally through different ownership structures.

I work near that Giant in White Oak, have for 10 yrs. All of this time I thought that each chain was allowed to have one store in the county with a license and that I just happened to be buy the Giant that did. I guess I totally made that up. Who knew. ;) (Not that I buy wine there anyway).

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I work near that Giant in White Oak, have for 10 yrs. All of this time I thought that each chain was allowed to have one store in the county with a license and that I just happened to be buy the Giant that did. I guess I totally made that up. Who knew. :P (Not that I buy wine there anyway).

I looked at the law and, in a way, you're both right. The rule is one license per company per county, as you thought. However, "chain stores, supermarkets and discount houses" aren't supposed to get any any new licenses at all. The exception is the renewal (grandfathering) or transfer of an existing license.

So Shopper's Food Warehouse in Germantown has a license and was only built about 10 years ago. I thought that Shopper's decided to take their one license and apply it to Germantown, as Giant was way down-county. But Shopper's overall isn't that old, maybe 25 or 30 years - so how do they even have a license? What probably happened is that they used to be Jumbo food stores and have transfered their one grandfathered license as needed - to SFW's in different locations. Giant continues to hold theirs in White Oak, while Costco and Trader Joe's can't get one at all (unless they're able to buy one from a company going out of business, if the licenses are transferrable that way).

Interesting. Thank goodness we have people in Annapolis and Rockville that watch over and care for us so deeply. ;)

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I looked at the law and, in a way, you're both right. The rule is one license per company per county, as you thought. However, "chain stores, supermarkets and discount houses" aren't supposed to get any any new licenses at all. The exception is the renewal (grandfathering) or transfer of an existing license.

So Shopper's Food Warehouse in Germantown has a license and was only built about 10 years ago. I thought that Shopper's decided to take their one license and apply it to Germantown, as Giant was way down-county. But Shopper's overall isn't that old, maybe 25 or 30 years - so how do they even have a license? What probably happened is that they used to be Jumbo food stores and have transfered their one grandfathered license as needed - to SFW's in different locations. Giant continues to hold theirs in White Oak, while Costco and Trader Joe's can't get one at all (unless they're able to buy one from a company going out of business, if the licenses are transferrable that way).

Interesting. Thank goodness we have people in Annapolis and Rockville that watch over and care for us so deeply. ;)

So would there be any chance that Wegmans will be able to get a beer/wine license when they open in Germantown?

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