News from Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association

Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(March 3, 2013 - March 9, 2013)

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As I See It...

Bar Rescue

Most of you have probably seen Spike TV's show Bar Rescue with John Taffer.

The show features a bar that is losing money and struggling. Many times the owners have lost their spark or are afraid of changing anything within their business.

Do you feel you have lost your spark or are afraid of change? MMBA is our version of Bar Rescue. We are here to help facilities that are struggling with whatever it may be.

The first step is to contact us and ask for help. No problem is too big or too small to deal with, but if you don't ask for help we can't offer our assistance.

MMBA has many resources to help you with your facility including: pricing, inventory control, policies & procedures, promotions, and more!

Another good resource is to attend our Regional Meetings, Boot Camp, and Annual Conference. I can tell you that I come back reenergized each time I attend one of these events. I'm filled with new ideas I can implement in my facility.

My suggestion to you is not to wait until it is too late. Contact one of the MMBA directors to help you. If they don't know the answer they will find someone who does.

We are not intimidating or yell like John Taffer,, but if needed we will in order to put the spark back into you.

Karissa Kurth

Buffalo Lake Liquor Store

For Sale

For Sale

The City of Bagley will be taking sealed bids on the following:

10 Door Cooler with Anthony Doors

Compressor/condenser put in, in 2009. Wood Frame construction, lighted, 10'X24' - 90 inches high.

Does not include shelves.

Minimum bid of $25,000 or negotiable.

BOF Gravity flow shelving

8 doors worth. 5 feet deep.

Minimum Bid of $8,000 or will negotiate bid for both items.

Sealed bids must be received in the Bagley City Clerk's Office, 18 Main Ave. South in Bagley, by Friday March 15th., 4:30 p.m.

Can be seen at the Bagley Municipal Liquor Store or call 218/694-2542 for appointment.

The City of Bagley has the right to refuse any or all bids.

(Editor's Note: The new Bagley Liquor is scheduled to open in the next couple of weeks!)

Albert Lea Tribune Editorial: Sunday Liquor Sales Unnecessary

With six days a week to purchase liquor, one has to wonder why it would be necessary to buy alcohol on Sundays.

While the state legislature ponders whether to allow such sales, we have to step up and say please don't allow it.

According to various websites, alcohol is a contributing factor in four most-commonly committed crimes: minor possession, open container, public intoxication and DWI, obviously the most serious of the four. And one site said that alcohol was a factor in 40 percent - or nearly half of all violent crimes.

We know that eliminating the sale of alcohol all together simply breeds new crimes and really isn't a logical option these days.

From an economic standpoint, municipal liquor stores aren't necessarily going to sell more alcohol than they do in six days, and they will incur expenses associated with being open - paying staff hours, lights, etc. However, with six days to purchase alcohol, and given the crime statistics and economic impact locally, we doubt it's necessary to offer liquor an additional day.

Austin Daily Herald Opinion: No Need for Sales

Sunday

It shows up on the legislative agenda every couple of years, but there never seems to be much support for the idea of expanding Minnesota liquor store operating hours to include Sundays.

As in the past, this year's version of the bill should be allowed to quietly fade away because for a variety of reasons Minnesota does not need Sunday liquor sales.

There has never been any solid indication that opening liquor stores on Sunday would create an appreciable benefit for Minnesotans (or anyone else). There are some reasons that it is a bad idea.

For one thing, anyone who can't get himself or herself organized to stop by the liquor store prior to Sunday probably has less need than most to buy any liquor.

More seriously, it is very clear Sunday hours would be a problem for small operators who would, for competitive reasons, be forced to open their stores on Sunday without gaining any appreciable sales.

Minnesota's leaders have already introduced a multitude of tax and policy plans that, if they become law, are going to break the backs of some small businesses. Another hardly seems like good policy.

Minnesota has gotten along just fine without Sunday liquor sales. No one is harmed by keeping the current law intact, and there would be harm for changing it.

Letting the bill die would be good public policy

Duluth News Tribune Editorial: Huh?

Last month, the Duluth News Tribune published an editorial in favor of Sunday Sales.

The article began:

Run out of beer on a Sunday and what do some Duluthians do? They jump into their cars and motor across a bridge to a liquor store in Superior for more, hoping the few they've already had weren't a few too many.

That potentially tragic scenario is an unfortunate reality that plays out more regularly than many of us would care to think about, and not only in Duluth, but in all Minnesota border communities.

So people who have had too much to drink should go to a liquor store closer to home to purchase more alcohol? Huh?

A problem will stay a problem until someone reveals a solution that others can embrace.

At that point, a problem becomes an opportunity.

Future Dates to Remember!!