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"This issue is clearly the next fight," said Adam Borden, presidentof Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws, an advocacy group thatfought successfully to get direct shipments of wine to Marylandresidents. "It's clear that consumers are aching to be able to buytheir groceries and a bottle of wine in the same place." The battle is currently being fought in Columbia, where a newWegmans plans to open in June. Developers envisioned a large liquorstore, but that's unlikely, at least initially. After a heated,41/2-hour hearing last week that was dominated by opponents, theHoward County Alcohol Beverage Hearing Board decided not to vote onthe liquor license application but to reconvene on June 14, justthree days before the store's grand opening. Similar skirmishes have occurred recently, to different outcomes,in South Baltimore and Bowie. The new Harris Teeter on McHenry Rowsurvived a challenge to The Cellar, the liquor store that'sconnected to it. But in Bowie, city officials tried unsuccessfullyto get permission for alcohol sales at a vacant site in a shoppingcenter in the hopes that it would help attract a Trader Joe's. "It died in legislative session," Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinsonsaid of the proposal. "I understand it's a bill not withoutcontroversy, but to me, it's an economic development issue. I'vegot a couple of shopping centers with vacant grocery stores thathave moved on. When I talk to grocery stores, to a person, theytell me the modern business plan is, they want to sell beer andwine." Under current law, liquor licenses cannot be issued to or used inconjunction with or on the premises of grocery store chains.Exceptions seem to abound, though, as do interpretations of thosestandards, with some grocery store licenses apparently"grandfathered" in and others allowed when the liquor business isowned by a separate entity. Opponents say that allowing Wegmans to have a liquor store wouldlead to other grocery chains angling for one, and that would be thedeath of small, family-owned liquor stores. In argumentsreminiscent of those used by mom-and-pop shops when Walmart andother big-box stores come to town, the merchants say they cannotcompete with the prices and selection that the chains can offer. "It would open the doors to the Giants and the Safeways and theHarris Teeters," said Bill Harrison, owner of the 27-year-old KingsContrivance Liquor and Smoke shop in Columbia. "It opens up thewhole bag of worms." The independent liquor stores are backed by the Maryland StateLicensed Beverage Association, a powerful group that remainsformidable despite some recent losses — the state raised thealcohol tax after decades when it remained unchanged, and nowallows wineries to ship directly to consumers. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Dental Impression Tray , China Air Water Syringe Tip, and more. For more , please visit Dental Saliva Ejector today!
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