Going to your local bodega to grab a pack of beer has been a completely normal occurrence in New York City for a long time now. But now there is a growing effort to allow these establishments to go beyond just selling beer and also be able to sell wine and other booze on the shelves.
This is a new effort to change New York state law that would allow small businesses, like bodegas, to sell wine and hard alcohol, along with local supermarkets.
This is stemming from a way of giving small bodega owners a competing chance in the market with rising prices of everything like rent, bills, and more. With new ways to make profit, it grants more economic opportunities. As great as this all sounds, this could end up being a very difficult thing to sell to communities and New Yorkers.
Historically, communities have pushed back against hard liquor and wine being brought into local spaces, voicing many concerns about safety, regulations, and the effects it could have on the youth.
On the other side, supporters of the law change want more revenue as they face more increases in the cost of doing business. “We’ve been struggling. Hard to do work,” said Radhamés Rodriguez, President of the United Bodegas of America. “Before, we didn’t sell hot food, but today the bodegas have had to implement it simply to survive.”
Other parties involved and in favor of this change are several winemakers across the state, seeing this change as a way to make more profit and money for the state of New York as a whole.
Although proposed, it is still extremely early in the bill’s lifespan and can be changed a lot from now to the future, with a major change possibility being just selling wine and no hard liquor to appease all parties involved.
