COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Convenience for the consumer, but costly for small businesses. In 2022, voters passed Prop 125, allowing for the sale of wines at grocery and convenience stores across Colorado. The law took effect in 2023. In Colorado Springs, it's been a blow to local liquor stores.
At Pinon Valley Liquor, they’re pulling out all the stops, or in this case, the snacks.
“I looked into carrying some of these snacks, such as gummy worms or gummy bears," said Owner Vera Lee. “I had to look into different types of chips.”
Lee and her siblings took over the family business after their mother passed away earlier this year.
“My mother was an immigrant from Korea," Lee said. "She was a single mother. She raised all three children by herself by opening the store and was able to feed us and send us off to college.”
Lee's family business is across the street from a Safeway, which she says is hard to compete with now that it can sell wines.
“Since grocery stores could carry wine, our sales on wine have been down at least 50%," she said.
Lee says offering items grocery stores can't is one way this challenge is being addressed.
It's not just Pinon Valley that’s had to pivot.
“We can kind of tailor to their palate," said Amy Haight, manager of the Wine Gallery.
Just down the road from Pinon Valley at the Wine Gallery, Haight says its unique selection of wines became even more unique thanks to the law change.
“That was kind of a natural transition when grocery stores did pick up the wines, to keep going in that natural direction," she said.
A future concern lies ahead: Lee said voters could decide if they want to see liquor on the shelves at grocery stores.
If that happens, Lee says they’re not sure where small businesses will turn.
“Some of these stores, that are just mom and pop, people’s lives depend on this as a source of income," she said.
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