Litchfield Independent Review - Uncorking a debate - Comments

My wife and I are not big on

Idontthinkso — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:48:29 -0600

My wife and I are not big on drinking. My wife likes to drink Arbor mist and the premade stuff like dacqaries. Niether of us have ever been impressed by the stuff wal mart carries but have by cub foods but certainly do not drive to go the store. The store in town has good stock, how ever if they want to compete they are going to have to change thier hours. They should be open till 7 or 9 on week days and 10 on weekends. and what is wrong with it being open on sunday? oh wait the churches would have a fit with that.

yawn. as a former

nirenejca — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:21:07 -0600

yawn. as a former litchfield teenager who had open access to alcohol from older kids, who assumingly had open access from young adults (21+)... access to alcohol in litch was rarely an issue.

i now live in california, we have two aisles in the grocery dedicated to wine and spirits, another for beer. the selection is fabulous. i rarely consume alcohol but it is sure nice for dinner parties to make one less stop. i'm twenty-nine and am always carded in my grocery store, i love the compliment!

the avenue of sale doesn't prohibit the use by kids, or force responsible drinking. parents need to assume the responsibility that having teenagers requires.

Alcohol access should be

gordman — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:19:26 -0600

Alcohol access should be forbidden for kids and teenagers, but still I see drunk teenagers on the streets, it's quite sad to see those kids at this level of degradation, they are very vulnerable and hard to recover.
California drug northern rehab

Kotter, you asked how much

Kristin Holtz — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:19:07 -0500

Kotter, you asked how much business Litchfield Liquors would lose if grocery stores are allowed to sell wine. In the full article in our print edition, store manager Angela Decker said it's hard to know, but she believes Litchfield Liquors would survive.

Currently, 15 percent of Litchfield Liquors' business comes from wine sales. If the bill passes Decker said it would change how she does business because grocery stores would likely stock the best selling wines. She anticipates she would have to specialize and carry more “boutique” brands of wine.

On the other hand, as a municipal liquor store, profits are used to fund the Litchfield Civic Arena. The city transfers $60,000 from the liquor store to the civic arena fund every year, according to Decker.

Most people have the first

scott hornemann — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:58:18 -0500

Most people have the first reaction to competition as a negative thing for a business. This is not always true, there are many times that competition will increase business. I believe that most people who have a favorite alcoholic beverage will go to the place they know they can get it(ex liqour store) rather than have to settle for the limited selection that the grocery store will offer. Perhaps this will even prompt the municipal liquor stores to get to know their customers wants and needs better, thus providing a better selection/service for their customers. Everyone wins in that situation.

Scott Hornemann is the Internet Advertising Representative for the independentreview.net, you can reach him at websales@independentreview.net

In general, I'm in favor of

Kotter — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:35:45 -0500

In general, I'm in favor of breaking the monopoly. But I guess it would be unfortunate for small towns that rely on municipal liquor store sales to lose a lot of revenue. How much business would a place like Litchfield Liquors be projected to lose?

Also, a little competition could be a good thing. Litchfield Liquors would probably be able to beat a place like Wal-Mart any day on variety, not just of wine but hard liquor and beer as well.

And some people will probably never want to buy a bottle of chardonnay at the same place where they can get their oil changed. Just the principle of the thing.

I have lived in california

minton — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:43:41 -0500

I have lived in california and arizona where the grocery stores have a full liquor selection, It's very convient to have a one stop shop to get everything. In Missouri even the walmarts have a full liquor selection.

I don't think it is that big of a deal if you can buy a bottle of vino along with your groceries.

So what do you think? There

Kristin Holtz — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:55:31 -0500

So what do you think? There seems to be good reasoning to both sides of the debate, and I'm curious of what you think about this issue.

Are you in favor of allowing grocery stores to sell wine, or do you think it's better left to liquor stores?

Uncorking a debate

Kristin Holtz — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:40:03 -0500

You’re rushing through the grocery store, picking up the final ingredients for a romantic dinner when you realize the one thing you’re missing — that perfect bottle of wine.