THE BOOZE BIN
By Rosalie Morton (@rosaliemo)
When I first arrived in Charlottesville as an undergrad at U.Va., I was flabbergasted that Virginians could not walk into their grocery store and buy liquor. I’d grown accustomed to my dear old Mom and Dad grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels and setting it in our shopping cart right beside the peanut butter and jelly. Hard liquor is available 24-7-365 in California. And, it’s one of the few things that’s cheaper out west than in Virginia (along with car washes and manicures… who knew).
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores? I thought. Why, that’s a monopoly. I learned in 11th grade U.S. History that monopolies are illegal. And ever since, I’ve been perplexed. Yet, begrudgingly, I still go to the ABC store once a month between the hours of 10 to 9, Monday through Friday, and 1 to 6 on Sunday to restock the liquor cabinet.
Today, I’ve resolved to clear everything up, with a little ABC 101.
Prohibition
Prior to prohibition in the U.S., alcohol was sold like any other good – in stores – as well as in saloons and bars. When
the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on Jan. 16, 1919, it ended the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxication within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States…” Basically, if you can’t get your hands on it, it makes it pretty hard to drink it.
Needless to say prohibition wasn’t very popular. Particularly during the Great Depression (doesn’t take a psych degree to figure that one out).
After prohibition was repealed, states were allowed to set their own regulations for alcohol control. Some states decided to continue prohibition, while others left it to individual counties and cities to decide. Today, there are actually still hundreds of these dry counties, where it is illegal to sell or produce alcohol. Most of them are in the South. In fact, almost half of Mississippi’s counties are dry.
The Start of ABC
Virginia’s ABC website does a nice job of explaining the history of ABC stores. Basically, following the ratification of the 21st amendment , which repealed prohibition, Virginia adopted a “plan of liquor control.” This involved a combination of a monopoly on the sale of hard liquor and license system for the sale of lighter beverages.
Back to my original question. How is this legal? It’s a government-granted monopoly, sanctioned by the state… and therefore legal. Uncle Sam wins.
Pros of ABC
- Better control of underage drinking issues
- I’ve always been carded at ABC stores. Always. In fact, when I was underage, I didn’t know any better, and went in with a friend who was 22 at the time. They wouldn’t let her buy alcohol just because I was with her.
- Grant funding for education
- ABC provides thousands of dollars in grand funding to “enhance community coalitions and programs at colleges and universities throughout Virginia.”
- ABC acts as lead coordinatior for the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YADAPP), which kicked off its summer leadership conference this past Monday. Hundreds of teens have gathered at Longwood University to brainstorm issues facing teens, including underage drinking, illegal drug use, texting and driving and seatbelt use.
Cons of ABC
- Selection
- From a purely consumer standpoint, ABC will always have its drawbacks. In sunny California we have a store called BevMo, the Disneyland of liquor stores. Is it absinthe you want? In the Pasadena store, there are nine different kinds of absinthe in stock as I type this blog post. The stores are clean and easy-to-navigate. From craft beers to elderflower liqueur, they have it all. It’s delightful.
- Hours
- You pour your Belvedere into a shaker for a hand-crafted dirty martini. As the last drop hits the cool, metallic vessel, your eyes shoot up to the clock. It’s 9:01 p.m. on Friday and your night just went from looking great to abysmal. ABC is closed for the evening and you’re fresh out of vodka.
It’s interesting, because when I set out to write this post, I was irritated with ABC. It feels so restrictive in America, the land of opportunity and free enterprise. But, as I crafted this post, I actually found a certain fondness for ABC. They’re putting money into initiatives like the YADAPP and they’re trying to keep teens from breaking the law. In comparison, I took a look at BevMo’s site, and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of corporate social responsibility going on over there… or at least they aren’t advertising it very well.
What do you think?
As a senior account executive, Rosalie CRT/tanaka clients’ traditional and social media relations initiatives and provides crisis counsel. She has successfully placed speakers at high-profile industry conferences, submitted winning award entries, planned events and media tours, managed social media campaigns, served as editor for client blogs and garnered placements in top-tier traditional and social media. She can often be seen on the third floor of the Richmond office, trying to find her dog, Petey, who has most likely snuck into someone else's office to beg for food.
Nice blog post Rosalie. You think it’s bad in Virginia? Try South Carolina, where liquor stores are required by state law to have large red dots on the outside of the building – hence the colloquial term from them, “Red Dot Stores.” Here’s a rational from the Richland (Columbia) County Library. http://www.myrcpl.com/quick-facts/why-there-red-dot-south-carolina-liquor-stores
Rosalie, great article. I have to agree with you when you state “I actually found a certain fondness for ABC. They’re putting money into initiatives like the YADAPP and they’re trying to keep teens from breaking the law.” I think, especially with drinking and driving among teens, that the best way to regulate the sale of alcohol is by letting the state do it. You have “trained” employees that will scan ID’s everytime and can spot a fake one. Also, with programs like YADAPP, the state is trying to be proactive with stopping underage drinking and I have a lot of respect for their approach. While it may not be a fan favorite with consumers, I think Virginia has the right idea with how they regulate the sale of alcohol.
Great post as usual, Rosalie! Until recently, you couldn’t purchase alcohol of any kind on Sundays in CT. Thankfully, they have finally changed that law.
Good post Rosalie. Gosh I have a friend that lives in Pennsylvania and you can’t even by beer or wine in the grocery store, it’s nuts! But, from a PR standpoint I really think that all companies have a responsibility to make sure their product/service is being used and marketed ethically. The fact that ABC is a government granted monopoly is not only good for regulation but because of this I would imagine the expectations of their corporate social responsibility initiatives/standards would be held to a higher standard. And for a lucrative product like alcohol, that also poses many threats if abused, I think it’s not only the right thing to do, CSR is something they must integrate effectively.
As a resident of PA I can tell you that state control is a nightmare. If the state wants to take alcohol tax money and do social responsibility initiatives, great. More power to them. But people who know something about wine and spirits should be selling them. Not glorified cashiers who know nothing, want to learn less, and get paid to be bad at their job simply because they are in a unskilled union. It costs a fortune in this state to buy sub par wine thanks to the PLCB. It should be abolished.