Colorado liquor stores face tough run against grocers now allowed to sell wine

Dozens of independent liquor stores in Colorado have closed since voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative in 2022 that allows grocery stores across the state to sell wine, according to a story in the Denver Gazette. 

Those liquor store closures are just the beginning, according to an analysis by the newspaper, which reported that industry analysts predict as many as 400 more will close by the end of 2026. 

Proposition 125, which was approved with 50.6% of the vote, has also given craft brewers a run for their money. Demand has declined for the high-end brews due in part to grocery chains’ unwillingness to provide shelf space, according to the report. 

Some liquor store owners said in the story that post-COVID sales have dropped by more than a third. 

Joe Brunner, owner of Lukas Liquors in Highlands Ranch, Colo., said his store closed over the summer after 27 years. “Bigger pockets than me blocked me out. Colorado is a horrible state for small business and a great state for corporations,” he told the newspaper. 

He believes as many as 800 more liquor stores across the state will shut down over the next couple of years. 

The Colorado Retail Council, which backed the proposition in 2022, said the change has been good for consumers and has brought prices down. 

“As we said for at least a decade, the customer ultimately wins and the prices are really appealing and the convenience is there,” CRC President Christopher Howes told the Denver Gazette. 

The change in Colorado follows a trend in states like Tennessee and Pennsylvania, which both began allowing wine sales by grocers in 2016. The Tennessee Legislature also approved HB 1540 in 2018, which allows liquor stores to be open on Sunday and wine to be sold at grocery stores on Sunday.