New store photo

We’ve added a photo of a Texas Whole Foods store that sells wine. Check it out and the list of states that we still need. Thanks to all our contributors.

Photos of wine in retail food stores

It’s really simple

Consumers always win when businesses compete.

Who could ever have a problem with lower prices, better service, innovation, and/or higher quality?

Stopteendrinkingtn.org and the FTC

We’ve had our issues and differences of opinion with the folks at stopteendrinkingtn.org during the General Assembly session.

Given some time to reflect, that really hasn’t changed.

The website claims to be “an outgrowth of the national We Don’t Serve Teens program, an effort of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).” Its petition asks visitors to register their disapproval of direct shipping of alcohol and the sale of wine in retail food stores.

Here’s the rub: the FTC supports the direct shipment of wine. FTC representatives even testified to Congress in 2003 about the benefits to e-commerce and the lack of evidence about the public safety risks.

The FTC’s We Don’t Serve Teens website makes a number of positive recommendations about preventing teens’ access to alcohol. None have anything to do with marketplace restrictions or protectionism.

So, decide for yourself why stopteendrinkingtn.org would feel it necessary to invoke the FTC’s name.

In the meantime, Red White & Food will continue to be upfront and transparent. Our goal is to give customers the choice and convenience of buying wine in retail food stores. We believe consumers always benefit from more choice and market competition. Red White & Food is supported by the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association.

Red White & Food’s goals seem perfectly aligned with FTC’s own mission. We’ll conclude this week’s post with some material directly from the FTC’s website:

Competition in America is about price, selection, and service. It benefits consumers by keeping prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high. Competition makes our economy work.

The supposed competitive imbalance

Liquor and wine retailers argue that more competition will destroy their businesses. That’s interesting, because the Green Hills neighborhood in Nashville seems to refute everything they fear about competing stores and/or lack of market.

There are three liquor stores in the retail area of Green Hills:

1. Bud’s Discount Wine and Liquors
2. The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills
3. yn in the Hill Center (which opened less than a year ago)

See the map for yourself.

Bud’s and The Wine Shoppe are almost in the same block on Abbott Martin. The newly opened yn is no more than .3 miles from the other two stores. That’s less than one mile to complete a round trip to three liquor stores.

Let’s review. It’s OK for liquor stores to open multiple locations within walking distance of another. But if retail food stores are allowed to sell wine, then liquor and wine retailers face an uncertain and bleak future because the competition would be too great or because the market is too small.

Scientists talk about the exception that disproves the rule. Green Hills is that exception to the retailers’ arguments.

Photos of wine in retail food stores

We asked Red White and Food members to send us photos of wine selections at retail food stores across the country. Our goal is to collect a picture from every state (33 in all) and the District of Columbia.

We now have three four submissions.

Thanks to Ilissa Gold

Wine selection at a Texas Whole Foods

From a Publix store in Florida — Thanks to D. Beronja

Whole Foods in D.C. — thanks to J. Manning Jr.

Here is the list of places where you can buy wine in retail food stores. Please send us a picture if you are visiting one of these states any time soon.

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. California
4. Connecticut
5. Florida
6. Georgia
7. Hawaii
8. Idaho
9. Illinois
10. Indiana
11. Iowa
12. Louisiana
13. Maine
14. Maryland
15. Michigan
16. Missouri
17. Montana
18. Nebraska
19. Nevada
20. New Hampshire
21. New Jersey
22. New Mexico
23. North Carolina
24. Ohio
25. Oregon
26. South Carolina
27. South Dakota
28. Texas
29. Vermont
30. Virginia
31. Washington
32. West Virginia
33. Wisconsin
34. District of Columbia