Less than three years after sweeping changes to the state”™s liquor laws that allowed Sunday sales, government officials are again looking to tweak how alcohol is sold in Connecticut.
Several state lawmakers, with the support of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, have proposed legislation this year that would abolish minimum prices on alcoholic beverages. While some lawmakers say the move will save customers money, most small package store owners say it would put them out of business.
“This is going to have hugely negative impacts, not only for the retailers but also for the consumers,” said Sergio Bran, manager of Cos Cob Liquors in Greenwich. “A lot of businesses will have to close their doors and a lot of people will be put out of work. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind these small businesses that keep them running every day.”
Minimum bottle pricing in Connecticut means that shops can”™t sell alcohol for less than what they paid for it. Most retailers receive discounts when buying in bulk, so the wholesale cost of a single bottle is used as the standard.
Removing that standard, industry experts say, would allow larger big-box liquor retailers to undercut their competition and eventually put family-owned shops out of business.
“It”™s the same thing that”™s already happened with pharmacies,” Bran said. “All of the independent pharmacies that used to exist in the region are gone. It”™s now dominated by the national chain stores and now they can charge whatever they want. The same will happen in our business.”
Stephen Downes, president of the Connecticut Package Store Association, said the overhaul of liquor regulations in 2012 that expanded allowable selling times and continued efforts since then to revamp the system are causes for concern.
“There is so much uncertainty in our market that nobody wants to make any investments in their business,” he said. “Nobody wants to invest money to expand their business or open up another location. Uncertainty is bad for business. What we need is stability to encourage additional investment and more job growth.”
The start of Sunday sales three years ago, aimed at capturing the residents who were crossing the state border to buy liquor, has had few upsides, the shop owners say. Many say the revenue doesn”™t rectify the increased costs to be open an extra day.
“All it did was stretch our sales over to seven days a week instead of six,” said Chris Ciaflone, who owns the Hi-Way liquor store on Mill Plain Road in Danbury. “Because of the need to staff an additional day and the additional utility costs for keeping the heat and lights on, we”™ve actually lost money as a result.”
According to the state Department of Revenue Services, the amount of excise taxes collected from alcohol sales, one of the few indicators of the sales levels in the state, has increased about 1 percent to $61.6 million since Sunday sales began. Those figures even include alcohol sold to grocery stores and restaurants because the excise tax is paid for by the distributor.
“I believe the grocery stores saw a little bump in business from beer sales on Sunday but that”™s been the only real impact,” the Package Store Assocation”™s Downes said.
State Rep. Robert Godfrey, D-Danbury, said he”™s opposed to repealing the minimum pricing laws on several fronts.
“I get a lot of calls from small business owners who are adamantly against this,” he said. “They see, and I believe rightly so, that this is designed to put them out of business and make it easier for the big box retailers to sell alcohol.”
But Godfrey noted that he also is against the proposal on a more personal level.
“I”™ve personally seen a lot of people suffering from the effects of alcoholism,” he said. “I don”™t want to make it cheaper and easier for people to buy booze. It”™s just that simple. Now, if we were talking about broccoli, I”™d be all for it.”
The lawmaker added, however, that he sees little chance of the proposal making its way to law.
“The mom-and-pop owners really came out and did some effective advocacy the last time around, and I expect they”™ll do that again,” he said.
Downes said you can bet on it.
“This is our livelihood,” he said. “Most of us have mortgages to pay and college bills to pay just like everyone else. When the debate comes up again, we”™ll be there.”
Dirk Perrefort is a reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media. He can be reached at
dperrefort@newstimes.com.
