Protect Local NYS Liquor Stores: Say No to Wine in Grocery Stores

Albany’s Wine-in-Grocery Plan Could Wipe Out New York’s Small, Family‑Run Wine and Liquor Shops

New York’s proposal to put wine in grocery stores is a direct attack on thousands of independent liquor stores, union workers, and the sales reps who keep this industry—and our communities—alive.

In the 2026 legislative session, Albany lawmakers are once again considering bills that would allow Wine in Grocery Stores, heavily promoted by a powerful coalition of big supermarkets and business interests – including Wegmans, Whole Foods (Amazon), ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Gristedes, Northeast Grocery (Price Chopper/Market 32 & Tops), select New ...

Albany’s Wine-in-Grocery Plan Could Wipe Out New York’s Small, Family‑Run Wine and Liquor Shops

New York’s proposal to put wine in grocery stores is a direct attack on thousands of independent liquor stores, union workers, and the sales reps who keep this industry—and our communities—alive.

In the 2026 legislative session, Albany lawmakers are once again considering bills that would allow Wine in Grocery Stores, heavily promoted by a powerful coalition of big supermarkets and business interests – including Wegmans, Whole Foods (Amazon), ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Gristedes, Northeast Grocery (Price Chopper/Market 32 & Tops), select New York wineries, the Business Council of New York State, the New York Farm Bureau, Instacart, and others.

Tell Albany: protect neighborhood liquor and wine shops, not big‑box profits. New York’s independent, family‑run stores depend on wine sales to survive, while national supermarket chains and app-based delivery giants already dominate food and household spending.

Use your voice to send a clear message: Wegmans, Whole Foods, and other large grocers do not need liquor and wine sales to stay in business—but your local liquor store does. Urge lawmakers and Governor Hochul to stand with small businesses, union workers, and main street communities by rejecting wine-in-grocery-stores legislation.

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Tell Your Legislators Where You Live and Work: Say NO to Wine in Grocery Stores!

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Subject:

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to oppose any legislation that would allow wine to be sold in grocery stores in New York.

Allowing supermarkets and big box chains to sell wine would fundamentally weaken New York’s long standing three tier system and devastate independent liquor and wine stores that have operated responsibly under it for decades. 
This change is not about “modern convenience”; it is about shifting revenue and market power away from local small businesses and toward large, out of state corporations.

This legislation would:
•	Destroy local jobs and small businesses. Independent liquor stores depend on wine sales to survive. When wine moves into big grocery chains, experience in other states shows many small stores lose so much volume that they are forced to close, taking good local jobs with them.
•	Send New York dollars to out of state corporations. Big chains already dominate grocery. Giving them wine licenses would funnel even more revenue to corporate headquarters, instead of keeping profits circulating in our neighborhoods through family owned stores.
•	Reduce consumer choice and service. Local liquor and wine shops offer deep product knowledge, a wide range of producers (including small and mid size wineries), and personalized guidance that big chains simply do not provide. As grocery shelf sets favor high volume national brands, smaller wineries and unique products will disappear from the marketplace.
•	Undermine public safety and responsible sales. Liquor stores operate in a tightly regulated environment, with staff focused solely on alcohol sales, ID checks, and compliance—no self checkout, no scattered entrances, and no mixing wine sales into a high traffic grocery environment. Expanding wine sales into supermarkets creates more outlets, more points of access, and more opportunities for underage purchases and problem drinking.

New York’s current system ensures that:
•	Local liquor stores remain viable employers and taxpayers in our communities.
•	Profits from wine and spirits sales stay in state, instead of flowing to distant corporate owners.
•	Alcohol is sold by trained, specialized retailers who are accountable for compliance and safety.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to vote NO on any bill that would allow wine sales in grocery stores and to stand with neighborhood businesses, their workers, and the communities they serve.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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