With Gov. Wes Moore’s recent announcement that he would support permitting alcohol sales in grocery stores throughout Maryland, Harford County business owners and officials are pushing back.

“Maryland is one of only three states that bans the sale of beer in grocery stores and one of only 10 that ban the sale of wine,” Moore said in a Dec. 11 statement. “We are the only one of our neighboring states to ban the sale of either in grocery stores — resulting in less consumer choice and putting our stores at a disadvantage. Lifting this ban puts the consumers first and ensures fair competition in the marketplace.”

Harford County Liquor Control Board Chair Wayne Goddard said permitting alcohol sales in grocery stores would be “absolutely devastating” for small businesses.

“The overwhelming majority of our liquor store owners are small businesspeople. Legislation that would permit the sale of alcohol in grocery stores would be absolutely devastating to those small businesses, as well as the people that own them, the landlords who lease space to them and the various community-based organizations who they sponsor and support,” Goddard said in a Dec. 12 statement. “I am optimistic that the legislative branch will protect the tens of thousands of small business owners and employees whose lives and businesses would be instantly destroyed if this legislation were to pass.”

Moore told reporters that while the proposal is not part of his 2025 legislative package, he will push for legislators to propose a bill in the next session that will bring beer and wine sales to grocery stores.

“As other states have done, I am confident that the General Assembly will be able to address the concerns from opponents of this policy change that more than 40 states have adopted in a thoughtful manner. I look forward to working with our legislative partners to advance this overdue change in policy to advance consumer choice and economic competitiveness that enjoys the support of the vast majority of Marylanders across political parties and regions across the state.”

Goddard said that a bill of this nature would provide no economic benefit to the state or its municipalities because no additional sales tax revenue would be generated. He said the sale of alcohol in grocery stores would simply divert consumer dollars away from small, specialty businesses to larger businesses and publicly held entities. Goddard also noted that this proposal would place a greater burden on small business owners who are already dealing with the combined effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the loss of market share to recreational cannabis.

One such business owner is Larry Dean of Bel Air Liquors on Main Street. Larry and his wife, Julie, have owned their business for more than 27 years and have been at the current location for the last 13. Running Bel Air Liquors is a family matter for the Deans, who employ their three children, Adam, Addy and Erin, along with roughly 20 others.

When Larry Dean heard Gov. Moore’s stance on beer and wine sales last week, he said his first reaction was to draft letters to state delegates listing his concerns about how the proposal would impact his business.

“My plan for the store to transfer from one generation to the next might get thrown out the window,” Dean said in an interview on Friday. “I mean, quite honestly, if beer and wine go into grocery stores, I will probably not even consider having Erin and Addy take over the business. That option gets pulled off the table at that point.”

Dean estimated Friday that beer and wine sales in grocery stores would cause him to lose at least one-third of his sales. Dean said that his liquor store has always supported local charities and public events, but such opportunities to give back to the community may dwindle if that chunk of revenue is lost. Dean said it would also be difficult to give his employees pay raises.

“We sell barrels of whiskey now, and those barrels are in high demand,” Dean said. “But if I lose a third of my business, I’m not going to be able to afford to buy those barrels and offer other cool things, and I’m not going to be able to support as many charities in the community or put those dollars back in the community for the people who are in need.”

In his letter to delegates, Dean noted that there are five major grocery stores, five convenience stores and a Target within a 1.5-mile radius of his store in downtown Bel Air, all of which would become competition if the governor’s proposal became law.

Five minutes away from Bel Air Liquors, Matt Hughes, 30, of Bel Air, expressed an opinion held by many customers outside a ShopRite on Sunday evening: “Personally, I think it’s a great idea to expand the market and allow people to shop in one stop,” Hughes said. “I think it’ll also help people who might be uncomfortable going inside liquor stores in their area.”

Nikki Whiteford, owner of Whiteford Beer, Wine and Spirits on Dooley Road, said her business could be threatened by the ShopRite across the street from her store.

“When you let chain stores start selling [beer and wine], you are taking away from family-owned businesses that have been selling to customers for years and giving more money to these chain grocery stores who already make millions,” Whiteford said Monday in a statement.

Whiteford stressed that employees at locally owned liquor stores have a deeper knowledge of alcoholic beverages and know what items their customers prefer. She said that her employees are taught the ins and outs of every product in her store and are taught to make recommendations to customers when new items appear on the shelves.

“The fact that all this does is line the pockets of chain stores with sales and no knowledge of products, when it doesn’t help the community at all, is the problem,” Whiteford said. “I believe that if the bill is passed, it would not be good for the state or the family-owned businesses.”

There are 30 grocery stores and 27 liquor stores in Harford County, according to government records.

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