# Liquor Stores - Why do they exist and why so many? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863 "2008-05-10T23:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/21 "2008-05-11T03:40:02Z")
I’ve been meaning to ask this for ages: What the hell is 3.2 Beer? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/22 "2008-05-11T03:43:32Z")
Oops forgot to answer the OP. Back when I was a heavy drinker I used to buy from Liquor stores for reduced prices and better selection. I still do when I want a good bourbon since the choice at the grocery store is Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and rotgut. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/23 "2008-05-11T04:01:58Z")
[State-operated liquor stores in Sweden.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverages_in_Sweden) > [@](#): > > .. As Sweden was industrialized and urbanized during the 19th century, industrially produced brännvin (vodka) became more available, and alcohol caused increasing health and social problems. **The temperance movement rose, and since 1905, government has a monopoly on sales of liquor.** > The Swedish prohibition referendum in 1922 resulted in continued sales of alcohol. A rationing system, called Brattsystemet or motbok, was used until 1955. As Sweden entered the EU in 1995, drinking habits became more continental, and regulations were relaxed. ..Consumption of alcohol increased by 30 % from 1995 to 2005. > > **Sweden has a government alcohol monopoly called Systembolaget for sale of all beverages stronger than 3.5% by volume.** Minimum purchase age at Systembolaget is 20 years. Restaurants and bars with proper permission can serve alcohol to anyone who is at least 18, though many nightclubs voluntarily require a minimum age above 18 (usually 20 or 23). > Beer is legally divided into three classes. Class I (maximum 2.25%), called lättöl (“light beer”), is sold without restrictions. Class II (up to 3.5%), called folköl (“people’s beer”), is sold in regular stores, but with the minimum purchase age of 18. Class III, starköl (“strong beer”, over 3.5%) is sold only in Systembolaget stores. > Beverages are taxed by content of alcohol, heavier than in most other countries. … Moonshining is common in rural areas ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/24 "2008-05-11T04:03:37Z")
In Canada, most provinces (except BC, apparently) only sell alcohol at government-run liquor stores (“liquor board,” “beer store,” etc.) In Quebec, beer and wine are available in grocery stores, but finer wines and hard liquor are only available at the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec). ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/25 "2008-05-11T04:03:43Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] I’ve been meaning to ask this for ages: What the hell is 3.2 Beer? [/QUOTE] 3.2% alcohol by weight (not volume). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/26 "2008-05-11T04:15:35Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] The liquor laws here in Texas are bizarre and highly localized. Some places are totally dry. Some only allow the sale of beer and wine. Some allow grocery stores to sell beer and wine, but only allow the sale of liquor in dedicated liquor stores. There’s actually one little “town” nearby that refused to be annexed as another suburb town grew around it. Now, there’s no way to tell where it ends and the other begins–except that it consists almost entirely of liquor stores, because town that surrounds it is dry. [/QUOTE] Sounds like Richardson growing around some other town, but my understanding was that it was annexed, but got to keep the liquor stores. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/27 "2008-05-11T04:24:07Z")
I was talking about Richardson and Buckingham, but I had the impression that Buckingham refused them for years. Maybe they’ve gone through with it now. I moved farther away years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/28 "2008-05-11T04:34:51Z")
In New Mexico, Grocery stores can have liquor departments if they have the license for it, and most do. Thing is, liquor sales are high profit margin, and grocery sales are low profit margin. So to some extent, the grocery stores raise the liquor prices a bit to subsidize the low profit groceries. The liquor stores are generally a little bit cheaper as a result, have more selection. And often have overstock type deals MUCH lower than the grocery stoes. Also, you don’t have to wait behind the jerk running a cart of 587 items through the express line, and trying to pay $30 using food stamps and the balance with a cheque written in Canadian dollars and no ID, who keeps shushing the cashier who is trying to interupt his cell phone conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/29 "2008-05-11T04:54:18Z")
Try this for something that looks odd. I live in a town on the Texas/Arkansas border. The Texas side is dry and Arkansas is wet. Through the middle of town is a street called State Line Avenue. Appropriately enough Texas is on one side and Arkansas is on the other. Driving down State Line you look to one side and see licquor stores. To the other you see convenience stores selling lottery tickets. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/30 "2008-05-11T05:11:10Z")
I’m not a drinker, so I’m not actually sure, but our grocery stores seem to have plenty of every kind of drinkable. Still, there are plenty of liquor stores around here (with really classy names, like Likker Locker) and they do just fine. I suppose it’s convenience and volume. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/31 "2008-05-11T05:16:57Z")
Grocery stores don’t always have the greatest selection of wines. You can find some decent stuff there, but if you’re looking for a lot of variety in terms of countries and types, liquor stores usually have them beat. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/32 "2008-05-11T05:20:28Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] In Canada, most provinces (except BC, apparently) only sell alcohol at government-run liquor stores (“liquor board,” “beer store,” etc.) [/QUOTE] Nitpick: Ontario’s Beer Stores are a private enterprise, owned by three breweries (Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman last time I checked). They’re not government-run. ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/33 "2008-05-11T05:23:10Z")
In my part of Australia all the booze is sold out of liquor stores or pubs. The local corner stores can’t sell alcohol although there very likely will be a liquor store (bottle shop in the local parlance) next door or around the corner. Some pubs may sell over the counter but most have a separate little bottle shop tacked on somewhere. The big supermarkets are also into appending bottle shops onto the side of the main store. They tend to be cheaper than the suburban bottle-o and are probably responsible for driving a good few to the wall with their (anti)competitive pricing. I haven’t bought any take-away booze for about three years now so someone with better research in the field might like to expand on the local situation. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/34 "2008-05-11T05:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Nitpick: Ontario’s Beer Stores are a private enterprise, owned by three breweries (Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman last time I checked). They’re not government-run. [/QUOTE] We called the liquor board the beer store in Manitoba. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/35 "2008-05-11T05:34:23Z")
I’m in a county in Maryland that has county dispensaries & no private stores, and I rarely go in them anyway, so I’m a liquor store 'tard. In regular retail liquor stores I notice there’s tons of really oddball liquors. Out of curiosity what happens to this unusual liquor that just doesn’t sell? Do they just keep marking it done until it’s so cheap someone buys it? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/36 "2008-05-11T05:48:16Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] God Bless California! My local Stater Bros. grocery has a bigger selection of booze than any liquor store in town. I’d have to drive 15 miles to the nearest Bevmo to find a larger selection. Staters has a better beer selection than the liquor stores as well. [/QUOTE] Or to Newport. 😃 ::: takes a sip of Pappy Van Winkle’s::: Good ole free enterprise. Some of these other states should try it. I have friends in Wa. Whenever I go up there, they give me a wish list of one or two bottles they want that they either can’t get at the State store, or cost your right arm and left leg. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/37 "2008-05-11T06:26:01Z")
When I grew up in Chicago (I’m 46), grocery stores could not sell liquor of any sort. Some drug stores could sell beer or wine, but only if they sold it in a “separate” facility, so the local Osco drug store had a separate entrance and cash register for the booze section of the store, and they had a very limited selection. By contrast there were fairly large liquor only stores (Gold Eagle, Teddy’s) that had an enormous wine selection, sold kegs, and were generally full service. I live in California now, and grocery stores can sell wine, beer, and spirits. Where I live, the selection of wines in groceries is pretty good, beer marginal, spirits fairly bad (unless you want 1/2 gallons of the big three – vodka, tequila, rum). There is a fairly slim number of liquor stores that I’d prefer to patronize, but I do so when I can if they offer much better selection and service than the grocery store. In any case, independent liquor stores are obviously relics here, and I expect they’ll be gone altogether sooner or later. They seem to be going strong where I grew up in Illinois, and I expect they will as long as general food stores have restrictions on what types of liquors they can sell. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/38 "2008-05-11T11:24:09Z")
Here in Virginia, we have state-run liquor stores, but any old store can sell beer & wine (with a permit, of course). I like it here because you can get booze 7 days a week, none of that closed on Sunday BS. The state stores are well-stocked, although not really cheap. Then again, you don’t have the hangers-on like some private stores. Oh, and **Projammer** , been there, done that. (I’m from Dardanelle, in a dry county) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/39 "2008-05-11T11:30:29Z")
[QUOTE=Two and a Half Inches of Fun] 3.2% alcohol by weight (not volume). [/QUOTE] What we in Australia would call “Gold” or “Mid-Strength” beer, in other words… ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863/40 "2008-05-11T11:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] Try this for something that looks odd. I live in a town on the Texas/Arkansas border. The Texas side is dry and Arkansas is wet. Through the middle of town is a street called State Line Avenue. Appropriately enough Texas is on one side and Arkansas is on the other. Driving down State Line you look to one side and see licquor stores. To the other you see convenience stores selling lottery tickets. [/QUOTE] In Kansas City there was a street like that, State Line Street. Kansas on one side, Missouri on the other. Before Kansas liberalized it’s liquor laws there would be bars on one side, but not the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquor-stores-why-do-they-exist-and-why-so-many/448863.md?page=3)