Flight of alcohol bills aim to support, expand industry
January 27, 2021
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DOVER — State lawmakers are weighing a flight of bills aimed at liquor stores and craft breweries while another continues a lifeline that many taprooms and restaurants have relied upon to stay in business amid the pandemic. Both liquor stores and craft breweries in Delaware are capped by the number of licenses they can hold,
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DOVER — State lawmakers are weighing a flight of bills aimed at liquor stores and craft breweries while another continues a lifeline that many taprooms and restaurants have relied upon to stay in business amid the pandemic.
Both liquor stores and craft breweries in Delaware are capped by the number of licenses they can hold, but two bills would raise those ceilings to allow for more growth in the alcohol industry. House Bill 23 would raise the number of liquor stores one individual or business can have in the state from two to three, while House Bill 45 would raise the cap for breweries and brewpubs to three to five.
Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford), one of the sponsors of HB45, argued that capping the alcohol industry was an anti-business measure that hampers one of Delaware’s best sectors. Shupe has been a part of recent efforts to eliminate the cap entirely, but in the last two years bills have either died in committee or never made it to the Senate floor.
“It was very divisive back then, particularly on the distribution side,” Shupe told the Delaware Business Times. “Breweries and brewpubs are a small business, and as a small business owner myself, I hate to see anyone limit a small business. They already face a lot of challenges in terms of attracting an audience and working through the regulations even before they even start talking about expansion.”
Delaware’s three-tier distribution system requires producers — like breweries and wineries — to sell its product to wholesalers, who in turn sell it to retailers. The system is intended to serve as quality control to consumers, but it also created an industry of its own. The six largest distributors in Delaware employ 414 people, handle a payroll of more than $40 million, pay nearly $37.7 million in federal, state and local taxes, and are responsible for $208.7 million in total economic impact, according to a 2017 University of Delaware study.
“There’s some fear that will cut into the distribution side and other taxes. But there’s also the reality that breweries and brewpubs have exploded. With the cap, they’re limited in how much they can expand, so they’re turning to other states,” Shupe said.
Delaware breweries contributed $430 million to the state’s economy in 2019 and produced 317,328 barrels of beer, according to the national Brewers Association. Lauren Bigelow, the marketing director for the 