Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(May 1, 2016 - May 7, 2016)
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As I See It...
Success3
As a new board member I would like to give my perspective as to what the MMBA has to offer and what you may be missing out on.
 
Three years ago, I took over as manager of the Longville Lakes Bottle Shop.
 
To say the least, it was a mess.
 
I had never managed a liquor store before and I have to say I was a bit over whelmed by all that need to be done.
 
Not knowing where to start my city administrator at the time suggested I give Paul from the MMBA a call.
 
My city had been a member for quite some time, but only started to be in contact with the association a few months before I started.
 
Paul Kaspszak and Steve Grausam came to Longville to help me with the start of my management journey.
 
First thing Paul said to me was "Stop trying to fix everything!!
 
This is your time to sell (June through September up north). 
 
Fix what needs to be fixed right now and make some money".
 
For the next 3 months that is what I did.
 
After the busy season was over I started one task at a time calling various members with each new task.
 
Steve came to Longville and worked with me for at least 8 hours straight on my computers and showed me what would best help me run the store more efficiently.
 
Brenda Visnovec helped sort my entire inventory into the right categories.
 
Plus she helped me create wine grab bags - one of the best ideas ever when needing to weed out old inventory!!!!
 
In my first full year of being manager, our sales were down 4% due to late ice out and no opening of fish.
 
BUT, our profits were up 124% thanks to the help of MMBA board members.
 
MMBA's goal is to help all of our members succeed.
 
Please let us know if we can be of any service to you.

Nancy Raines
Longville
Windom Wine & Beer Tasting had Something for Eveyone

By Cottonwood County Citizen

The recent Wine & Beer Tasting event, at the Windom Country Club, had something for everyone.

That was one of two major goals for this year's Windom Area Chamber of Commerce event.

The other, according to River Bend Liquor Store Manager Joe Audette, is to provide much more variety-in both wines and beers.

"It was a much bigger event than last year," Audette said.

Audette expects had 20 to 30 different wines available for the public's taste tests.

And, he said there were at least eight or nine different craft beers available.

Among the craft beer suppliers attending were Take 16 Brewing Company of Luverne and the Mankato Brewery.

The list of wine vendors included Paustis & Sons Wine Company, Vinocopia, Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, Breakthru Beverage, Southern Wine & Spirits and Round Lake Vineyards & Winery.

"All of the distributors are in Minnesota," Audette said. "Several of those brought four to six different wines."

The experience

Audette said the goal he had for guests was for them to be able to find something new.

"My biggest thing for craft beer and wine is that I'm always looking for something new that I like," Audette said.

"This (Wine & Beer Tasting event) was a chance to have fun finding something you like."

The event ran until 8 p.m. and there were light snacks available.

A wide variety of breads and cheeses were once again be provided by Hy-Vee at no additional charge.

In addition to beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres, the event fetured an online auction of items.

Those items were donated by WACC businesses and vendors.

Craft beer trend

Audette said there is definitely a trend toward sampling different types of craft beers.

"In the past year, we (River Bend Liquor in Windom) have sold 250 different types of craft beer," Audette said.

"I would say that a good percentage of the increase in our unit sales is attributed to our craft beer sales.

"It is fun because craft beer is not just a beer, it is a lifestyle that people live.

They don't want to drink the same beer every day.

They want to try things."

Future wine, beer events

Audette and other Chamber members are enthusiastic about the future of Windom's Wine & Beer Tasting event.

"I hope it is bigger next year," Audette said.

And, after next year, I would hope we'll have to look at a different venue because we need more capacity.

"This is good for the Chamber and it's good for the community."

Advance tickets were $12 and could be picked up at the Citizen, Bank Midwest, the Chamber office, or the Country Club.

Tickets were also available at the door.
After Sunday Sales Passage, the Current Effort to Prevent the Crushing of Colorado's Mom-and-Pop Liquor Stores & the Squeezing of Small Craft Brewers Out of Shelf Space at the Chains

Again, all of this started when Colorado passed Sunday Sales legislation.

If you haven't already, contact your legislator using the SMART website.

It is fast and easy.

 

By Brandon Johansson, Colorado Table

State lawmakers scrambled this week to craft legislation that would stave off a ballot measure this fall allowing grocery store chains to sell more alcohol products.

The proposal - Senate Bill 197 - would allow grocery store chains to sell full-strength beer and wine at five locations to start, and allow them to buy additional licenses from a liquor store.

But the bill's sponsor, Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, said every detail about the bill, including the number of licenses and how close the stores can be to liquor stores, is being debated as lawmakers work with grocers and liquor stores to try to avoid a costly ballot fight.

Steadman, who opposes the measures planned for the ballot that would allow grocery chains to sell full-strength beer at all their stores, said a legislative compromise would change the state's liquor laws, but not in the "radical" way the ballot measure would.

"The bill is designed to transition us to a different system of retail liquor sales and not have it happen overnight," he said.

But time is tight for the legislation, which was just introduced last week. The legislative session is slated to end next week.

"We're running out of time," he said.

The fight over who can and who can't sell retail alcohol is not a new one at the state capitol.

Lawmakers have tried, and failed, several times in recent years to craft rules that would allow grocers to sell full-strength beer and wine.

Under the current rules, liquor licenses are limited to just one per business, which means chains can't sell at more than one store and liquor stores are limited to one storefront.

Grocery stores are allowed to sell the lower-alcohol, 3.2-percent beer at their other locations, another quirk Colorado shares with just a few states.

As of now, there are two ballot measures planned for the fall.
One would allow full-strength beer and wine sales at grocery stores; another would also allow them to sell liquor.

Local liquor stores, as well as several Colorado craft brewers, have lined up against the measures, saying they would not only crush the state's mom-and-pop liquor stores but squeeze small craft brewers out of shelf space at the chains.

While lawmakers are haggling over a potential fix, the two sides haven't given up their fight, though they are paying close attention to the negotiations around Steadman's bill.

Jennie Peek-Dunstone, a spokeswoman for Keep Colorado Local, which opposes the ballot measures, said the group's eyes are still fixed on November.

"We are focused on the November ballot and ensuring that we protect our local biz and our Colorado craft breweries," she said.

The group has already spent $3 million on advertising, she said.

Still, the group is following the negotiations, and Peek-Dunstone said they are worried about how letting more grocery stores sell alcohol could affect the small businesses that currently dominate the market.

Any additional grocery sales likely won't be good for those small businesses, she said.

But what shape the legislation will eventually take is hardly clear, she said.

"It's so hard to guess at this point," she said.

Matt Chandler, a spokesperson for Your Choice Colorado, the group backing the ballot measures, said his group welcomes the legislation.

"We're pleased to hear that others recognize what consumers have been saying for years  - that Colorado's laws are antiquated and changes benefiting the customer are necessary," he said.

Still, they aren't throwing their weight away from the ballot and to the state capitol.

"We are reviewing the legislation, at the same time however, we are not altering our plan to take this directly to Colorado voters in November should a compromise not be reached," he said.
Future Dates to Remember


Legislative Session
End

May 23, 2016

2017 MMBA
Annual Conference

April 29 - May 2, 2017
Ask A Director

Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163

Cathy Pletta
Kasson
507-634-7618
  
Bill Ludwig
Paynesville
320-250-3325
  
Nancy Raines
Longville
218-363-3249 
  
John Jacobi
Isanti
763-444-5063

Nanette Serbus
Olivia
320-523-2730

Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732

Chris Arnold
Bagley
218-694-2542
E-Mail Me

Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-549-3710
Brenda Visnovec
Lakeville 
952-985-4901
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113

 Karissa Kurth
Buffalo Lake
320-833-2321
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925
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Minnesota SMART

The SMART campaign: Supporting Minnesota's Alcohol Regulations and Traditions, is a renewed public education and grassroots advocacy effort in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations and three-tier system.

 

We believe Minnesota's current alcohol regulations are smart, balanced, and supported by many citizens and our local small businesses.    

    

They work well for Minnesota!

 

The SMART campaign functions to help you engage in advocacy efforts with state legislators and others in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations, and to oppose issues-such as Sunday alcohol sales.

We want to make it easy and effective for you to engage.

 

Take action and send an email to your state legislators today through the new SMART campaign website.   

 

We have sample letters and legislator contact information put together that is ready to go.   

 

  Click Here for the Website
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