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Group backing grocery store beer, wine sales drops ballot campaign

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July 2, 2016, 9:43 am

A compromise bill to allow the gradual sales of full-strength wine and beer in Colorado grocery stores and avoid a costly ballot initiative battle to speed up the process has served its purpose, with King Soopers and Safeway on Friday dropping their campaign.

Gov. John Hickenlooper

Gov. John Hickenlooper

The group gathering signatures to put the issue to a vote in November, Your Choice Colorado, issued a press release Friday saying that “following Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature of Senate Bill 197 on June 10, the campaign will no longer proceed with ballot initiatives in 2016 to seek real beer and wine sales in grocery stores.”

The group opposing the ballot initiative campaign and backing state Sen. Pat Steadman’s SB197, Keep Colorado Unique, praised the decision by YCC.

“Our primary concern has been to ensure that local businesses and craft producers can still thrive in Colorado. We are pleased that the grocery stores did the right thing,” KCU spokeswoman Jennie Peek-Dunstone said.

“With the withdrawal of their initiative, we can move forward to implement the historic compromise without the cloud of an initiative that as Gov. Hickenlooper said would ‘irreparably harm independent liquor stores and craft producers throughout Colorado.'”

Liquor store owners in Vail and Summit County had voiced their support for SB197, telling RealVail.com that even though the bill gradually allows grocery stores to start selling full-strength beer and wine, it also allows small mom and pop liquor stores to plan for the future without being shut down overnight.

Here’s the full press release from Your Choice Colorado:

Your Choice Colorado to No Longer Proceed with Ballot Initiatives in 2016

DENVER–Your Choice Colorado today announced that following Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature of Senate Bill 197 on June 10, the campaign will no longer proceed with ballot initiatives in 2016 to seek real beer and wine sales in grocery stores.

“With the legislation now in affect, we are working diligently to figure out how this law will impact both Coloradans and grocery stores,” said Your Choice Colorado Campaign Manager, Georgie Aguirre-Sacasa. “While the bill isn’t perfect and we continue to believe that Coloradans deserve better, it does change the old status quo and will allow people more access to the Colorado craft beer and wine that they love.”

In the nearly nine months Your Choice Colorado was actively working to change Colorado’s antiquated laws, the campaign received broad support from people around the state who wanted to allow sales of full strength beer and wine in neighborhood grocery stores to see more choices about where to buy beer and wine, more Colorado craft beer and wine sales from grocery store shelves, and a positive impact to state’s economy through new grocery store jobs. The campaign collected over 85,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

“Moving forward, Colorado’s grocery stores will continue to sell the products and services that Coloradans want,” said Aguirre-Sacasa. “Thank you to all those who supported changing the law in favor of more shelf space for the Colorado products we love.”

 

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David O. Williams

Managing Editor at RealVail
David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.