Caitlin O’Connor (left) and Jed Jenny are part of a group of nine employees who bought The Wine Source in Hampden just two months ago. The group is now concerned about competition from major retailers. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Jed Jenny and Caitlin O’Connor have been minding their own business for about two months and now face an unexpected concern: a push for legislation in the General Assembly next year that could increase beer and wine sales in Maryland.
The pair are part of a group of nine employees who bought The Wine Source, a Hampden retailer that sells beer, wine, spirits and specialty foods.
“I worked for Wine Source for 19 years and it has been a great opportunity,” says Jenny, who started stocking shelves and making deliveries to the store in 2005. “We are all very passionate about the industry and our products and what we do. to sell. We were presented with a great opportunity when our former owner decided he wanted to retire and offered us the chance to purchase the business, including a huge loan to pay off.”
Now Jenny and his partners are concerned about Governor Wes Moore’s call to pass a bill that would allow the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores and other stores.
The governor said in an interview this month that the change is popular among Maryland residents who want one-stop shopping convenience. He said he also believes it will be an economic tool that will help supermarkets stay or locate in areas where it is difficult to make a profit. Moore said he wants the House and Senate to have legislation “on my desk by the end of the session.”
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The owners of Wine Source — and others in the industry who held a news conference Friday at Wells Discount Liquors in Baltimore — see it as a threat to their business.
“It is clear that our business plan and projections did not take into account Governor Moore’s recent statement,” Jenny said. “It’s almost comic timing for us after eight weeks.
“He (Moore) just hasn’t taken the time, and he seems to be deliberately avoiding our perspective,” Jenny said.
Jeryl Cole is a fourth-generation Baltimore resident and the first in his family to own his own business: Off the Rox, a beer and wine store in southeast Baltimore.
“We’ve been there for six years now,” Cole said. “If lawmakers allow this bill to pass or the proposed bill actually passes, my store will be directly affected. I don’t think we could ever compete with convenience stores – Royal Farms or 7-Eleven and so on. We are bankrupt.
“I know we have created a great community in Southeast Baltimore, and we have invested a lot in our community, where we live and work,” Cole said.
But a spokesperson for Moore said expanding the number of places to sell beer and wine “puts consumers first and ensures fair competition in the marketplace.”
“Government. Moore announced his support for beer and wine sales in grocery stores because Maryland is one of the few states in the country where consumers can only purchase beer and wine at specialty stores – resulting in less consumer choice and a detrimental impact on our stores.” said Carter Elliott IV, the spokesman. “This is supported by more than 70% of Marylanders. From the East Coast to the mountains of Western Maryland, it is clear that people widely support this decision.”
Efforts to expand beer and wine sales in Maryland are not new, but the association representing alcoholic beverage retailers has so far managed to thwart those efforts. What’s new is Moore’s support: No governor in recent history has been vocal on this issue, let alone called for legislation that would land on his desk.
Joann Hyatt, owner of Wells Discount Liquors in Baltimore. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Wells Discount Liquor in Baltimore has been in Joann Hyatt’s family for more than 50 of the 80 years the store has been open. Hyatt, 73, said she hopes to pass it on to her daughter Roxanne, who also works at the store.
She sees the latest call to expand sales as a serious threat because it has the support of a governor.
Hyatt employs nearly three dozen people during the busy holiday season. Many of her full-time employees have been with the company for decades, she said.
“If this continues, I don’t think we will go bankrupt. I don’t think we would, but I don’t need half my employees. I just don’t do that. Who do you cut when everyone has been here so long? That weighs heavily on my mind,” she said.
“I think so much about selling the company, but it’s just personal,” Hyatt said. “I couldn’t put my head down at night, knowing that they would all have to look for other work.”
And then, like now, many lawmakers say they worry that allowing big retailers, with their increased purchasing power, will impact what they say is one of the last mom-and-pop industries in the state is, a company that gives some immigrants the opportunity to understand their version of the American Dream.
“I’ve worked hard to establish my family,” said Ashish Parikh, owner of Cranberry Liquors in Westminster. “We are established and now my children are in college, and the cost of colleges is so high at this stage.”
Parikh said if other stores could sell beer and wine “it would be devastating for us, we would be completely out of business.”
Ashish Parikh said owning Cranberry Liquors in Westminster gave his family a piece of the American Dream and sent his children to college. Expanding beer and wine sales, he said, would close his business and prevent others from repeating his success. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
“And there are many more people like me who are in this situation,” he said.
Lawmakers — including those in charge of committees that would consider such bills — and those in the industry said they were surprised, disappointed and in some cases angry by a lack of communication with the governor.
Jack Milani, owner of Monaghan’s Pub in western Baltimore County and co-chairman of the Maryland Licensed Beverage Association, said the last time he spoke to anyone in Moore’s administration was “last year when they told us they were cutting our lottery commissions.” were going to decrease.”
