Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics - March/April 2017

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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TWIN CITIES Focus on the A strong market for independent retailers. I ndependent retailers in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, are absorbing a changing landscape that includes the entry of a big-box competitor and a new law legalizing Sunday liquor sales. The late-February vote undoes an 1858 Prohibi- tion-era law against selling liquor in the state on Sundays. It will likely take effect in July of this year, a Minneapolis TV station reported in March. A grassroots pro-Sunday sales website claims Minnesota could generate $10.8 million to $15.1 million in new tax revenues as a result of the change, but retail- ers are mixed on whether it will be a blessing or a curse for small and midsize stores. PROS AND CONS OF SUNDAY SALES As in many industries, Sunday's hours of operation for area li- quor stores will be more limited than weekdays, and lawmakers have yet to announce specifi cs as of press time. But Ted Farrell, president of Haskell's wine store (with 12 Minnesota locations), says he's already not happy about the law's passage. "We will still do the same amount of business with more costs," he says, adding that he will probably hire more people to cover additional shifts. He says he's not sure his suburban stores will fare any better in the change, but that his more centrally located stores will likely bene- fi t due to Minnesota Vikings football games. Farrell says his industry contacts in Colorado—where a no-Sundays law changed in 2008—have told him that the nov- elty of buying on Sunday wears off quickly. "You do the same amount of business dissipated over more time," he explains. "It will hurt the small mom-and-pop stores to run an extra day." BY SARAH PROTZMAN HOWLETT 20 Beverage Dynamics • March/April 2017 www.beveragedynamics.com

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