A month after grocery stores started selling full-strength beer in Colorado, some independently owned liquor stores in La Plata County are already feeling the pain.
The owners of Helen’s Country Liquor Store, near Forest Lakes, and Star Liquors, in northeast Durango, both said they have noticed a marked decline in sales.
At Helen’s store, customers are purchasing fewer 24 packs of beer, said owner Amanda Foutz. She is worried low prices and convenience offered by grocery stores might continue to hurt sales, particularly during key holidays and events, such as the Super Bowl.
“We might see a real big decline,” she said. Helen’s sells more beer than any other product, she said.
Grocery stores were allowed to start selling full-strength beer instead of 3.2 percent beer Jan. 1 after changes in Colorado law in 2016 and 2018.
The ability for grocery stores to sell wine and spirits in addition to beer will be phased in over time. Right now, a grocery store chain can hold licenses to sell beer, wine and spirits in five locations with drug stores on site, said Liquor Enforcement Division Director Patrick Maroney. By 2037, grocery stores will be able to sell beer, wine and spirits in an unlimited number of locations with drug stores, he said.
Grocery stores are bringing new competition to a market dominated by small businesses. Before 2016, no one could own more than one liquor store in Colorado, which gave rise to about 1,700 small liquor stores statewide. However, the rules for ownership of small liquor stores have loosened. By 2027, individuals will be able to own four liquor stores, Maroney said.
The new laws and new competition for small liquor stores are coming on the heels of the legalization of marijuana in 2014, which also hurt sales, said Stan Crapo, owner of Star Liquors.
“This is going to be another thing that will impact us downward. ... We simply have to do the best job we can with what remains,” he said.
As a result of the new law, he said he expects some of the small liquor stores statewide, especially those heavily dependent on beer, to close.
Some bright spots for liquor stores could be wine, which hasn’t been hurt by marijuana, and whiskey, a spirit rising in popularity across the nation for several years, he said.
Some liquor store owners said it is too soon to know what impact the new law is having because quality snow is drawing skiers to town, as are popular events like Snowdown, which affect overall sales.
Ed Moreno, manager of Durango Liquor and Wine, said the snow is drawing in so many more tourists than last year that he can’t compare his January sales to the same month last year.
Kendra Baudis, owner of Bayfield Liquor, said it is a slow season for sales, so it was hard to say if the law is having an effect. However, she said she expects to be insulated from the change because her shop isn’t close to a grocery store.
Before the new liquor law passed, some retailers and craft brewers argued the law could hurt an industry that is made up of more than 300 craft breweries in Colorado. The small retailers provide outlets for new products not available through large chain grocery stores, shop owners said.
For example, a brewer can bring a case of beer to Wagon Wheel Liquors, and if it sells, the store will keep ordering it, said co-owner Mike Rich.
Dave Thibodeau, Ska Brewing’s president and co-founder, said small stores helped his business grow, and he hopes they persist.
“I really feel for the independent stores. ... Hopefully, they can evolve,” he said.
The new competition from grocery stores might encourage smaller stores to focus on quality brews and variety, several liquor store owners said.
Moreno said when stores carry tasty craft beers, the news travels by word-of-mouth and draws customers.
“People are pretty nerdy,” he said of beer aficionados.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
