Another stab at liquor law reform

[Townsend]

Oklahoma wine in grocery store petition withdrawn

http://www.ktul.com/story/19191688/oklahoma-wine-in-grocery-store-petition-withdrawn

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Supporters of an initiative petition to allow large grocery stores in Oklahoma's largest counties to sell wine say they're withdrawing the petition from consideration but will re-file it next year.

The attorney for Oklahomans for Modern Laws, Lee Slater, said the initiative petition was withdrawn Friday because legal proceedings surrounding a formal protest delayed the 90-day period supporters had to obtain enough signatures to get it on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

Slater says that by re-filing the petition in the fall of 2013, supporters hope to obtain enough signatures to get the issue on the general election ballot in 2014.

Currently, wine sales are restricted to licensed retail package liquor stores. The initiative petition proposes a new wine license to permit wine sales by grocery stores and supermarkets.

[Conan71]

Saw that.  You think "the they" got to them?

[Townsend]

Saw that.  You think "the they" got to them?

"They"'re everywhere man.

[TheTed]

So, best case scenario for this:
We vote on it in November 2014.

Then Tulsa County residents would have to vote on actually allowing what the new law allows (wine and beer, but only in certain large grocers). So in 3-4 years, we'd have a very, very small step toward modern laws.

Then we'd have to have more and more votes to move further toward modern laws, like allowing beer in all stores, sunday liquor store hours, cold beer in liquor stores, no more 3.2 beer, etc.

Hopefully I'm still young enough to drink booze by the time actual modern laws arrive.

[nathanm]

By the time that happens, modernity will have passed the new modern laws by. That's what happened last time around, isn't it?

[Conan71]

By the time that happens I will be a pile of ashes in the Rockies and/or Caribbean.

[carltonplace]

By the time that happens I will be a pile of ashes in the Rockies and/or Caribbean.

and/or ha ha

[patric]

no more 3.2 beer, etc.

Thank Anheuser-Busch for resistance to that (when they aren't bankrolling the defeat of marijuana reform).
http://reason.com/archives/2012/04/22/4-industries-getting-rich-off-the-drug-w/1

[Townsend]

TW FB post:

Costco officials told her that "the chain cannot do business in Oklahoma until some changes occur," which she said suggested the alcohol laws were part of the problem.

I can't access the story so I'm not sure who "she" is.

[Conan71]

TW FB post:

I can't access the story so I'm not sure who "she" is.

"She" is one of "them".

[dbacks fan]

By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Published: 8/28/2012  11:37 AM
Last Modified: 8/28/2012  11:56 AM

Charming Charlie, The Corner Bakery, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Von Maur are actively looking to open Oklahoma locations, while Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers and Costco have ruled the state out, at least for now.

That was the result of a survey conducted by Katherine Field Boccaccio, senior editor of Chain Store Age magazine, that examined restaurant and retailer attitudes toward the state.

Boccaccio presented her findings during the International Council of Shopping Centers IdeaExchange held Thursday in the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center.

She said that of the 159 companies she interviewed, fewer than 20 percent have plans to enter the state.

Boccaccio said some of the bigger barriers include a lack of suitable locations, a lack of population density or a lack of confidence in the buying power of residents.

"A lot of companies pass on Oklahoma due to the perceived lack of income, even though the cost of living is lower and people have a lot of discretionary income," she said.

At least for some companies, another stumbling block is the state's alcohol laws.

Boccaccio said officials at BevMo!, a growing liquor chain, told her they can't do business in the state due to the laws, though they would be very interested in expanding here should things change.

Costco officials told her that "the chain cannot do business in Oklahoma until some changes occur," which she said suggested the alcohol laws were part of the problem.

Other stores, specifically The Container Store, are concentrating their growth in bigger areas, and some currently have no or slow expansion plans, Boccaccio said.

However, other companies expressed interest in coming here. She said officials at The Corner Bakery said they very nearly proceeded with plans to open restaurants in Tulsa, though plans with the franchisee fell through. They are now making new plans for a Tulsa entry.

Von Maur officials are interested in opening in Tulsa, although they have had trouble finding a suitable location, Boccaccio said.

H&M officials did not specifically mention Oklahoma, but she said they are looking at smaller cities within the region.

In-n-Out Burger officials told Boccaccio they will consider expanding to Oklahoma after they finish building out in the Texas area, a process that should take another five years.

Sur La Table will also evaluate Oklahoma within the next three to five years. Au Bon Pain would like to open here, although Boccaccio said distribution could be a problem for the eatery, and that they would need to open multiple locations simultaneously to make it worthwhile.

Companies that are looking to expand their existing presence in Oklahoma include Qdoba, Panera Bread, Children's Place, Whole Foods Market, P.F. Chang's, Sprouts, Walgreens and CVS/Pharmacy, Boccaccio said.

During her talk, she noted that the state is attractive to many companies because of its strong economy, solid middle-income population, low cost of doing business, the interstate highway system and its proximity to Dallas.

"The majority of businesses I interviewed for this survey consider Oklahoma to be an extension of Texas," Boccaccio said.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=53&articleid=20120828_53_0_Charmi357348

[dbacks fan]

"The majority of businesses I interviewed for this survey consider Oklahoma to be an extension of Texas," Boccaccio said.

Ouch, that comment kind of stings.

[AquaMan]

I hope our governor was either attending or had someone summarize and explain these comments to her.

[rdj]

She was too busy trumpeting her ability to grow business in our state at the RNC to notice this discussion.

[Townsend]

This morning, KJRH mentioned Amazon starting to sell wine.  Amazon would charge the wineries a fee.

They didn't follow up this fun story with "but we in Oklahoma are unable to use this service because of our outdated laws".

How could the person tossing this story in there not mention we can't use the service?  Dammit.