Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(September 20-26, 2009)
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As I see it...
 
Branson
 
GOOD MORNING!! 
 
My Wife & I just returned from a trip to Branson, Missouri.  
 
For those of you who have never been there, Branson is quite the tourist town with what seems like an endless number of gift shops - along with everything else.  
 
One of the things that really caught my attention was how we were treated as customers.
 
We were treated very well in most stores.  However, there were a couple of times as we were leaving a retailer that I mentioned to her that I really wouldn't care if I ever went back there again.  
 
It really made me stop & think - "How do my staff and I treat our customers?"  
 
I hope we never had a customer leave our store & make that negative comment -- that they really wouldn't care if they ever went back again.  
 
After all, customers are the purpose of our jobs.  Without customers, we would not have jobs. 
 
Upcoming BAT trainings:
 
Wed. Sept. 23 Hawley
Thurs. Sept. 24 Beltrami County (Bemidji)
Sun. Sept. 27 Fairmont
Sat. Oct. 10 Northfield 
 
For those who do not know, BAT (Beverage Alcohol Training) is an alcohol awareness program offered through MMBA designed for ALL sellers & servers of alcohol.  
 
The program has information regarding the laws of selling alcohol, legal & illegal sales, information about ID's- which ID's are valid & acceptable & which ones aren't, compliance checks & how NOT to fail them, incident reports, and a lot of other very valuable information. 
 
I know some of you are new to the industry & have questions about BAT and/or scheduling a program.  
 
If you have a question,please call me at Pelican Rapids Liquor, 218-863-6670. 
 
Bob Leslie
Pelican Rapids Liquor Manager
MMBA Director
Boo!
JackoCask 
 
 
Here is an interesting take on Halloween entertaining. 
 
Pictured left is a 3 Liter wine box sitting inside a pumpkin, with the spigot as the mouth. 
Vesta Position Opening
Vesta 
The City of Vesta is accepting applications for a Liquor Store/Bar Manager. 
 
High school diploma and bartending experience required.  Small business management experience a must. 
 
Salary dependent on qualifications. 
 
Applications can be picked up at the city office in Vesta, MN. 
 
To ask questions or to have an application mailed, contact Ellie Baune at 507-762-3393. 
 
Application deadline Oct. 2, 2009. 
 
EOE.
 
Beer Sales Make a Comeback at College Stadiums
TCF Bank Stadium 
Source: WSJ
JEFF D. OPDYKE and DAVID KESMODEL
Sep 12th
 
Beer has long been a social lubricant at tailgate parties in college-campus parking lots during football season. Increasingly, that party is moving inside the stadium.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette this weekend expects to allow fans for the first time to buy beer inside "The Swamp," as the school's stadium is known. The city of Memphis, Tenn., began selling beer last weekend at the city-owned Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, home field for the University of Memphis. And both the University of Akron and the University of Maryland this season are selling beer for the first time in the high-dollar luxury suites in their respective stadiums.

A big motivation for this beer run is money.

With the economy squeezing government coffers, city leaders and school administrators "have to think progressively and look for every opportunity to find new income," without increasing taxes or imposing more fees, said Jack Sammons, chief administrative officer for the city of Memphis. The city annually loses some $260,000 operating the Liberty Bowl, not including capital improvements that typically exceed $1 million a year.

Overall, about three dozen of the roughly 120 largest NCAA Division 1 schools allow beer sales inside their stadiums, though many limit sales to luxury suites, lounges or club-seating areas. In other cases, beer is available stadium-wide because a facility is owned by the city, the state or a local sports authority, and that body, not the school, establishes the alcohol policy. Most colleges, already struggling with underage drinking on campus, frown on beer sales in their stadiums.

Colleges and cities face a delicate balancing act soliciting beer sales where underage students congregate en masse. Problems have erupted in the past. The University of Colorado at Boulder, citing violence linked to drunken fans, banned beer sales in 1996 in all areas of Folsom Field except luxury suites and club seats. Just last month, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which does not allow alcohol sales in its stadium, banned alcohol-related advertising during football broadcasts.

Schools are also pursuing various measures to prevent potential problems. Along with checking the ID of everyone buying a brew, Memphis is dispensing beer in clear cups so security officers can monitor who's actually drinking it.

The University of Nevada, Reno surveyed ticket holders last year to gauge interest in banning beer in Mackay Stadium. A majority wanted the suds, but also wanted enhanced security. In response, the university has trained security personnel in conflict resolution.
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, like several schools, permits sales only up to halftime. It also limits beer to only 3.2% alcohol by volume.
 
The university, which has sold beer in Hughes Stadium for more than 30 years, halted beer sales in the stadium in 2004 and appointed a task force to curb alcohol abuse in the wake of two alcohol-fueled riots near campus and a student's death from alcohol poisoning. The task force determined that rowdy behavior at tailgate parties outside the stadium was more of a problem than drinking inside. The university resumed sales in 2005.

Although the National Collegiate Athletic Association bans alcohol sales and signage at the championship events it controls, it doesn't regulate school activities during the regular season. The nation's various athletic conferences also generally pursue a hands-off policy, though some do limit or ban alcohol sales at conference-sponsored tournaments and championship games.

The nation's two biggest beer suppliers, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC, say they're not pushing for in-stadium beer sales.  A spokesman for MillerCoors said selling beer in stadiums "is not a focus for us."

In preparing to open its new on-campus TCF Bank Stadium this season, the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis aimed to provide beer sales to premium-seat holders only. But last spring, Minnesota lawmakers balked. They argued the stadium should maintain the same egalitarian policy that for years allowed fans of legal drinking age to imbibe at Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, where the Golden Gophers formerly played home football games. (The Metrodome sold the beer; the university was not involved.)
 
When the legislature passed a law calling for stadium-wide sales, the university's Board of Regents responded by banning beer entirely -- a move that resulted in several suite-holders canceling their tickets. In all, the university's athletic department estimates the beer ban will cost it about $1 million in lost revenue.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will share revenues from its pending beer sales with Sodexo, the U.S. unit of Paris-based facilities-management company Sodexo SA. Neither school officials nor Sodexo executives would comment on the contract's details, but Russ Mushro, a Sodexo vice president, said contracts typically give schools between 25% and 50% of concession sales.
 
He said concessions generate about $6 per fan when beer is included. Last year, The Ragin' Cajuns attracted, on average, 21,500 fans per game.
 
You are Invited.... 
 
Rush City Opening 
Future Dates to Remember!!
MMBA Food Drive
 
October, 2009
 
2009 MMBA Regional Meetings
 
October 13
  Hinckley  

October 14
 Plymouth 
 
October 20 
 Red Wing 
 
October 21
Walker 
 
October 27
Morton
 
October 28 
Fergus Falls  
 
Ask A Director
 
Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163
 
Bob Leslie
 Pelican Rapids
218-863-6670
 
Dan Bahr
Bemidji
218-751-8868
 
Brian Hachey
Stacy
651-462-2727
 
Nancy Drumsta
Delano
763-972-0578
 
Lara Smetana
Pine City
320-629-2020
 
Joyce Zachmann
Spring Lake Park
763-780-8247
 
Virgene Shellenbarger
Hutchinson
 320-587-2762
 
Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-381-2349
 
Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732
 
Toni Buchite
50 Lakes
218-763-2035
 
Michelle Olson
Sebeka
218-837-9745
E-Mail Me
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925

 
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Tax Rates
Soda
An MMBA member recently asked about tax rates for food items such as olives, ice, soda etc.
 
Here are some Minnesota Sales Tax Fact Sheets:
 
 
Tip of the Week
Target Ads
Always measure the results of your advertising efforts.
 
Advertising should be designed to deliver specific results.
 
If you do not get results, change the media or the products.
 
 
 
Edible Chocolate Cups
Chocolate Cup
An MMBA member recently asked about the legalities of exclusive liquor stores selling the edible chocolate cups that people pour their own liqueur into. 
 
They knew it was legal to sell the liqueur-filled chocolates, but wondered about boxes of the cups. 
 
According to Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement, it is not legal to sell confections without alcohol in an exclusive liquor store.

BONUS Tip of the Week
New Product
Have an assigned place in your facility where you highlight a new product you have recently added.
 

The secret of developing new customers is to have a systemized approach to consistently go after those potential customers