It’s Montgomery County, Maryland, Alcohol Beverage Services, which for fiscal 2019 reports a net loss of $5 million on revenue of nearly $127 million.
Montgomery County, one of the five counties bordering Washington, D.C., also operates a warehouse from which beer and wine stores and restaurants – as well as the county-owned stores, all have to buy their wine. The warehouse makes about $34 million a year.
It’s not clear why the retail operation is actually hemorrhaging cash, and county council members have asked for a detailed analysis. Council Member Hans Reimer says “there’s no good reason for operating retail stores at a loss,” and says the most financially advantageous option would be to sell the county stores but keep the warehouse.
Another option, he says, would be to contract the operation of the stores to a private firm. This would avoid having to issue a license, something which would require changes in state law, and allow the county to retain control of the location and density of liquor outlets, and allow private beer and wine stores to add liquor to their offerings.
Reimer also believes grocery stores should sell beer and wine, which is currently prohibited by state law.