WASHINGTON — Since 1978, most grocery stores have not been allowed to sell beer or wine across the state of Maryland. Now, Governor Wes Moore says it is time for a change.
"Maryland is one of [the] only states in the nation that bans the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores – it's time for a change," Moore wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter on Wednesday. "Lifting this ban puts people first and makes us more competitive. I look forward to working with our legislative partners to pass this overdue change."
Moore is not the first official to try to lift the ban on wine and beer sales. In 2021, Delegate Lily Qi of Poolesville introduced a proposed constitutional amendment to allow retail grocery stores the opportunity to sell beer and wine. The amendment would have been considered by Maryland voters, however, the legislation was withdrawn by a sponsor in March 2022.
Forty-seven states and D.C. allow grocery stores to sell beer, of those states 40 of them also allow wine sales. Maryland operates under a 1978 law that prohibits alcohol licenses to chain and discount stores, but some stores were grandfathered in due to preexisting liquor licenses.
A January 2022 poll, cited by the Maryland Retailers Association, reports that 72% of Maryland voters are in favor of allowing grocery stores to sell beer and wine, with 44% strongly supporting and another 28% declaring somewhat support.
"Across Maryland, voters in every demographic group back changing current law in order for grocery stores to be authorized to sell beer and wine," the Gonzales Maryland Poll results read.
"With this piece of legislation, the challenge is getting the general public to appreciate why things are what they are," Capital Beer and Wine owner Justin McInerny said.
McInerny said there are hundreds of small businesses that run beer and wine or liquor stores. Granting sales to supermarket chains jeopardizes these businesses.
"So all of these mom-and-pop beer, wine and/or liquor stores that have their licenses that are next to supermarkets will be completely out of luck," he said.
One of the groups advocating for the change, 'Time For Choice," disagrees. Their website claims that other states have made the change without negative effects on small businesses.
McInerny said he thinks the change would be similar to what happened to Montgomery County independent grocery stores when the large chains moved in.
"There's already a Safeway here that completely wiped out a store and all and that's really well known in the community," he said.