Option For Later Hours Is Not A Hit

With Local Liquor Store Owners

By Shannon Hicks

The two-year budget that was passed in Connecticut’s General Assembly last week includes a provision that will allow liquor stores to remain open until 9 pm, one hour later than they have been operating since 1967, when stores began closing at 8 pm. Grocery stores will also be allowed to sell beer until 9 pm.

The budget will go into effect upon passage –– when Governor Rowland signs the 200-plus-page document. Lawmakers are hoping to raise additional taxes through the extra sales of liquor. State Representative Julia Wassermann (R-106) was among those who voted to pass the two-year, $27.5 billion budget.

While advocates said the expanded hours for liquor sales will raise as much as $2.1 million for the state through taxes, liquor store owners in Newtown seem to be in agreement that this small concession is not going to be a big help to the state’s budget woes. The state faces a $1 billion deficit this year.

“We weren’t for the 9 o’clock extension,” Don Gabriel Jr, who co-owns World of Wine and Spirits on Main Street South with his father, said this week. “It’s just the state’s way of expanding hours. It doesn’t necessarily mean more business for us.”

Brad Utz, who owns Church Hill Wine & Spirits, echoed Mr Gabriel’s thoughts.

“I truly think this plan is only going to draw out the purchases, not necessarily bring in more sales,” he said. “We get a lot of people rushing in at ten minutes to 8. I think this new law will mean they won’t have to rush any more.”

Mr Utz is probably going to keep his store open until 9 on Fridays and Saturdays, but not all week. Mr Gabriel is considering the same plan. Tony Caraluzzi, who owns Taunton Wine & Liquor, says he believes that “often there is wisdom in tradition –– and at this time we have no plans to change our closing hour past 8 pm.”

Mr Caraluzzi also mentioned the state is sending mixed messages by allowing liquor stores to remain open longer so soon after legislation was passed that dropped the state’s legal blood alcohol level from .10 to .08.

“I think our representatives in Hartford are desperate for more tax revenue and that they believe that our opening an extra hour each night will mean consumers will purchase –– and therefore drink –– more, which would increase tax revenues,” he said this week.

“It doesn’t seem logical to pass new legislation with the objective to increase alcohol consumption through increased store hours when you just recently passed legislation designed to decrease alcohol consumption through a degrease in the blood alcohol content for DUIs,” he continued. “Either you’re for more moderate alcohol consumption or you’re not. I don’t think the legislature should be sending mixed signals in this area.”

Bob Schnut, who co-owns Yankee Discount Wine & Liquors with his wife Inge, thinks extra hours are “ridiculous.”

“There’s just so much people will buy. We could be open 24 hours, but people won’t necessarily buy more alcohol,” he said, also pointing out possible dangers of later-hour purchases. “Years ago the state allowed stores to be open later and that was changed back to 8 pm, I believe in part, because of incidents. You had more robberies, more problems with alcoholics, in those later hours. It just led to more trouble.”

Of course longer hours of operation is only an option. The provision only says that stores are allowed to stay open until 9, not that they must.

“I haven’t decided definitively yet,” said Curt Hopkins, the owner of Stop & Save Liquors of Newtown, “but I’m leaning toward not expanding my hours. At this point I’m pretty sure I won’t be adding hours. We may stay open a little longer during the holidays, when people are out shopping later anyway, but that would be the exception.” Mr Schnut, who said he’s “still on the fence for later Friday and Saturday hours,” also mentioned the possibility of staying open late during the holidays only.

The blessing of the new law may be in not having to push people out of a store at the stroke of 8 pm.

“If someone’s in the store and they haven’t decided on their purchase, maybe it means we’ll stay here until 10 after 8, but we won’t necessarily keep the doors open for new walk-ins after 8,” Mr Hopkins said. “That way we can still make final sales each evening without getting into trouble, and without having to rush people out the door.”

Connecticut’s package stores were allowed to sell until 6 pm when Prohibition was repealed. Two years later, the law authorized drug stores to sell liquor and allowed them to sell until 11 pm. In 1939, package store owners successfully sought legislation allowing them to stay open until 11 pm.

In 1957, the state’s package store association, after repeated attempts, convinced the legislature to adopt legislation banning liquor sales after 9 pm for all sellers. In 1967, the association succeeded in pushing up the mandatory closing hour for all sellers to 8 pm.

The Connecticut Package Store Association has taken a stance against any increase in hours and days of sale.

In a President’s Message currently on CPSA’s website, current president Steve Downes writes in part: “CPSA continues to oppose any increase in hours and/or days of sale, as well as expanding the types of places permitted to sell alcoholic beverages.

“…CPSA members believe that increased hours and days will only increase our store operating costs and will not increase our overall sales. Increased purchase opportunities will also increase drinking and driving problems and underage purchasing problems and also increase the cost and difficulty for police, courts and social service agencies to monitor and control these problems. More outlets mean more opportunities for inebriated and underage customers to pass by inexperienced and inattentive clerks in high-volume supermarkets and late-night gas stations and convenience stores.”

Later in his note Mr Downes includes the following: “CPSA members are working to keep these changes from being made by lawmakers who fall for the lobbyist’s line that ‘more liquor sales can solve problems.’ More sales in more places, for more hours, on more days makes problems grow worse, and quickly.”

Sunday Sales Next?

Many of Newtown’s package store owners feel the state’s big push this year for extra hours during the week will only lead to one thing in the near future: allowing Connecticut’s liquor stores to open again on Sunday. An earlier version of the budget proposed the opening of stores until later hours as well as the opening of stores on Sunday. That budget was voted down.

The ban against Sunday liquor sales in Connecticut was part of the original Liquor Control Act passed in 1933 at the end of Prohibition. Like other so-called “Blue Laws,” the ban had its origins in more religious-oriented times, when commerce of any kind on Sundays was thought to violate the Christian Sabbath.

“I think the state’s next step is seven-day sales,” Brad Utz said. “This is just a method to their madness: This is just the state’s way of getting Sunday sales.”

Mr Gabriel Jr called the state’s work this year “a stepping stone” to Sunday sales.

It isn’t necessarily a shying away of more work that liquor store owners are shying away from, it’s the additional time away from their families they don’t like.

“Most of the package stores in Newtown are family owned businesses,” Mr Hopkins pointed out. “As it is the state is looking for us to work another six hours during the week on evenings. These extra hours mean family lives suffer that much more.”

“It would cut into the quality of life to be working seven days a week,” said Mr Utz, who pointed out that store owners would also be expected to either give up their Sundays or pay others higher wages in order to have them work on Sunday if that should come up.