Are beer and wine sales in Colorado grocery chains hurting small liquor stores?

Small liquor stores across Colorado recorded sharp drops in sales and customer traffic after the state allowed beer and wine sales in grocery stores. 

Wine hit chain store shelves in March 2023, four months after Colorado voters narrowly passed Proposition 125 to allow it. Full-strength beer became legal to sell in chains in 2019, after lawmakers lifted a ban. 

Some independent retailers saw sales decline 30% to 40% after wine became available in grocery stores, adding to a continuing financial blow from the expansion of beer sales, according to Chris Fine, executive director of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association. Some stores were forced into closure. 

As of January, Colorado had 36 liquor-licensed drugstores, mostly grocery stores hosting pharmacies in the Front Range. On April 10, Gov. Polis signed Senate Bill 33, which prevents the issuance of new liquor licenses to drugstores. Stores with existing licenses may renew them.