Jackson Heights Life

Yes!  Costco is the leading seller of fine wine in this country, but not in New York. Moreover, under the current law, not only does Trader Joe's have to have a separate store for wine, but they are allowed only a single license for a single store in the entire State.  Thus, in Queens they can't even have an attached wine store. 

With respect to the under age drinking argument, young people generally don't run down to 78th Street Park on a Summer night and crack open a fine Bordeaux.  I know I didn't.  We drank beer which, ironically, is already available at supermarkets.  If we trust supermarkets not to sell beer to young people, we can trust them with wine.

I feel bad for the local liquor stores, but I am always disappointed by their selection and prices. I find myself going into Manhattan or Grand Wines in Astoria to find the stuff I want at a reasonable price. 

2. Given the limited shelf space available in most NYC supermarkets, devoting an aisle or even half and aisle to wine means cutting the selection of groceries and other goods available for sale elsewhere in the store. If that's the case, I'd rather give up the convenience and stop in at the wine shop after I do my grocery shopping.

This is an interesting point Steven.  For argument's sake, I'll take your shelf space issue and add another question to the mix.  In a market the size of Trade Fair on 37th Avenue with very limited shelf space, what quality wine can we expect to be offered?  Smaller markets have problems with the arrangement of traditional grocery items, let alone wine.

This is an interesting point Steven.  For argument's sake, I'll take your shelf space issue and add another question to the mix.  In a market the size of Trade Fair on 37th Avenue with very limited shelf space, what quality wine can we expect to be offered?  Smaller markets have problems with the arrangement of traditional grocery items, let alone wine.

For me the point isn't what they put on the shelves and where they put it.  That's a business decision that should be left to the stores.  My objection is that we have these outdated, prohibition era laws that don't allow the stores to make those decisions, thereby limiting my choices.

I'll note that Josh Wesson, the founder of the Best Cellars wine retail chain, now works for A&P which owns Waldbaum's.  We have a Walbaum's in our neighborhood.  The combination of Wesson's wine knowledge and the buying power of a huge national chain will result in choices and prices we don't currently have in Jackson Heights. 

I am all for more competition. The mom and pops have something that walmart will never have. let walmart sell the crap.  We have at least 4 produce stores in the neighbhorhood - in competition wtih the supermarkets.
BTW - there already is a supermarket that sells wines in JH. in very limited quantity, but they do it. I dont know why and I'm not going to divulge because I like the people there.

I'm trying to figure out why the law is there in the first place...

NO! keep the booze in liquor stores!, consolidation of products and goods leads to homogenization of products line and overall negative impact on the variety of items a community can consume.  supermarkets already decide for you what you will eat, lets keep some choice in what we drink

I am actively pursuing a venture opening a new store in JH, selling affordable quality wines, but I am waiting the outcome of this proposed law change.  I am hopeful that we will be selling wine & craft beer, along with food items to go with the beverages (IE nice cheeses.) If/when that happens, I hope you shop at my store instead of Trade Fair!
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Do you have a location?

The laws regarding sale of alcohol are certainly strange. I used to promote liquor and so I spent some time at various liquor stores and learned that these are laws:

-Liquor stores are not allowed to sell beer, only wine and liquor
-Liquor stores are not allowed to sell non-alcoholic beverages, which is why the only "mixers" sold there contain at least 1% alcohol.
-Liquor stores are not allowed to be open for more than 5 hours on a Sunday.
-Alcohol may not be sold before noon on a Sunday.

In Albany county, liquor stores were not allowed to be open past 9pm.  I believe that law varies by county, as I have seen other counties be as early as 7pm.  I'm not sure about around here.

I can see if the current law, stating that wine can only be sold in liquor stores was changed, it would probably cause many liquor stores to shut down.  While a lot can be said about appreciating the expertise and service provided at liquor stores, the convenience of the supermarket will outweigh that for many individuals, myself included.  That being said, I'm not a big drinker and do not really appreciate the qualities of good wine--it all really pretty much all tastes the same to me.  When I make my wine purchases, it's almost always because I'm visiting someone and bring a bottle with me.  I don't know if there are enough people who really do appreciate wine and need the additional selection of a liquor stores are around here to support all of the liquor stores if wine were to be sold in the supermarket.