I’m going to try to keep this blog as PG rated as possible. That said, I’m really pretty pissed off. Matt and I were talking about our new “Gateway” series of reviews over the weekend and we thought a good way to save money would be grabbing some miniature bottles of some the regulars like Jim Beam, Bushmills White Label, etc. It seemed more cost effective that going out and dropping $300. So yesterday I headed out to Total Wine in Dunwoody. I’ve spoken before about this particular establishment. It’s well laid out, has a broad selection, and best of all it has a wall of miniatures to buy from. The selection of these is nice but what I really like is the fact that they aren’t buried behind the counter where you can’t see them. That’s one of my major pet peeves with liquor stores.
So I go in last night and notice that they’ve moved things around. No big deal. Or so I thought. By the time I’d walked through the store I noticed that they were missing something. LIQUOR! It was all wine and beer. I asked one of the guys working there and he said that they were told by the state that they couldn’t sell liquor anymore. The reason? The way the blue laws are written in Georgia to prevent gas stations and grocery stores from selling spirits is written ignorantly broad. Apparently, in Georgia if a retail company owns two or more store locations then it is prohibited from selling spirits. Because Total wine has two locations, they can no longer sell spirits. How F—–G stupid is that?
I accept the no sales on Sunday because I grew up here. I accept that a restaurant has to wait until 12:30 PM on Sunday’s to pour because I figure I can wait. But this is just stupid. Maybe one day we’ll pull ourselves out of the dark ages. Until then, I’d like to formally raise a middle finger to Blue Laws of the great state of Georgia.