I’m guessing like everyone else, but I have to assume that Total is NOT trying to get two licenses for the same individual. That is a non-starter based on NYS law, and should have resulted in a one sentence rejection from the SLA. According to the OP, the SLA was considering factors like how many stores were already in the same area (a key criterion for them in making a licensing decision). That implies that the person who applied for the license was eligible to receive one, otherwise why would they be bothering to take that step? My guess is that the applicant, who has the same last name as the two principal owners of Total Wine, either is one of those owners, or a relative, and is not the owner of the Westbury store. It is not uncommon for people in NYS to do this, e.g. a woman will get a license for a store, she decides to open another location and has her husband get a license for a second store. In the Wegman’s case I mentioned earlier, Danny Wegman’s children each opened a liquor store, which is perfectly legit, and which the SLA allowed. The SLA went after them later, claiming there was coordination between the stores, which is not allowed. Wegman vigorously disputed that but ultimately gave up the fight.
I can’t say for sure what Total’s plan is, but my guess is that they are trying to establish a footprint in NY, build their brand, make some money (to all appearances the Westbury store is very successful), start making friends and greasing palms, and eventually work on getting the laws changed. The only way to get that started is to set up a group of independent stores under the Total brand. They’re definitely going to take heat from the SLA, but Total has more resources than most retailers to take them on. If I’m right, that’s why the SLA bringing up residency was so stupid. We all know that the SLA will have it in for them, but that provides tangible proof of prejudice that Total can take to the judge.
I think you mean not in a city or incorporated village. A hamlet has to be in a town (in the NY legal sense, equivalent to township in other states), doesn’t it? All counties are divided into towns, so every square inch of the state is in some town or other.
Pretty clearly a bad thing for mom and pop shops upstate and maybe in NYC outside Manhattan. Manhattan real estate is too expensive for big-box wine stores. My guess is that they wouldn’t be viable in the Bronx or Brooklyn for the same reason, and because those boroughs aren’t car-centric. But Queens and Staten Island are less densely built up (hence cheaper real estate) and more car-dependent, so they might be targets for TW.
Upstate and Long Island would seem to be fertile ground for a chain like that. LI and the Westchester suburbs are car-centric and densely built up, which seem like the key to stores like that.
From the TWs I’ve been in in New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, I don’t see them competing with the better retail stores in Manhattan or Brooklyn. TW’s prices aren’t that great and, by necessity, their business model revolves around high volume, which means large-production wines. I’ve found their selection pretty uninteresting. (Bottle King in NJ is more interesting to me.)
So I doubt that Chambers/Crush/Flatiron/Astor/PJs are losing any sleep over TW. I could see a TW in Hartsdale competing for some of Zachy’s cash-flow items if TW sets up shop in Hartsdale, but Zachy’s has a much, much richer selection.
It seems VERY unlikely that an outfit as big as TW didn’t thoroughly understand the legal regime in NYS. It’s a heavily regulated business and you can be sure a company that size has regulatory lawyers. I wouldn’t rely on what the folks in one store say.
I have heard, that if enough retailers in the area area against it, then they can also petition to have the SLA NOT grant a license due to competition.
In general you are probably correct. I would guess they do this in increments to avoid really pissing off state legislators/regulators and their industry supporters. In Maryland I believe they did it in steps until they got uniform wholesale pricing tossed out in favor of wholesalers being allowed to bulk discount. One thing they have left alone is the ban in inter-county alcohol deliveries.
From what I’ve seen at TW stores in Maryland they don’t generally have the best prices or even selection of wines unless you want most of their bulked-out no-name winery direct wines. IMHO, until they get a better selection of wines there won’t be much interstate demand.
![[inquisition.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/c/ca509cfc4f437b06c2c96ea8a6efc6109476d648.gif "inquisition")