Some local liquor retailers say they don't plan to raise their liquor prices in response to a gubernatorial decision that allows them to do just that.
The bill, which Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed into law Monday, gives stores the option to raise their liquor prices above the state-set limit. The bill doesn't affect restaurants and bars because their prices aren't capped.
The House voted, 66-41, in favor of the bill in October, and the Senate approved it a few weeks later by a 29-8 margin.
"It will definitely be a wait-and-see proposition to see what the market bears," said Rich McCarius, owner of Tom's Party Store, 2778 E. Grand River Ave.
Small liquor retailers have to find their niche, and carrying specialty items is one way to do that, McCarius said. He added that his store carries many specialty brands of liquor.
"We carry not just specialty things, but different sizes you can't find at a place like Meijer," he said.
Allowing businesses to increase their liquor prices is a double-edged sword, McCarius said.
"It's good in the short term because it allows us to make progress," he said. "But it's really just a first step for the bigger companies."
Since the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition in 1933, liquor in Michigan has been distributed through a three-step system. The first step is made up of the manufacturers and importers who make the liquor. The second step consists of the wholesalers who purchase the liquor from the manufacturers and importers. The third step is comprised of the retailers, the liquor licensees.
The long-range plan for the big-box stores, such as Wal-Mart and Meijer, is getting rid of this three-step system, McCarius said.
"They don't like the system," he said, adding that the companies would rather bypass local distributors. "If they can work directly with the suppliers, they can sell liquor at even cheaper prices."
East Lansing resident Eric Williams, 34, said he's upset the measure was approved.
"It's horrible," said Williams, who came into Tom's Party Store on Tuesday to buy a can of Miller High Life beer. "I don't think it's right that some retailers are gonna jack up the prices. It's not good for business."
Williams, who said he regularly comes to Tom's, said if he noticed a business increasing their liquor prices, that retailer wouldn't get his business anymore.
Fellow East Lansing resident Michael Tonner, 25, said he doesn't like the idea of a business increasing their liquor prices, unless it's done so for the purpose of funding government services or projects.
If businesses increase their liquor prices, Tonner said he might change his drinking habits.
"I'd probably just end up drinking more beer," he said.
Hannibal Fawaz, one of the owners of Jackpot Party Store, 2922 S. Cedar St. in Lansing, said the store won't raise their prices because they have a lot of close competition.
He said the people who take advantage of the new law are stores in rural areas that don't have the same level of competition.
"People are forced to go to those stores," Fawaz said. "But I'm surrounded by four or five other stores, so if I raise my prices, people will go elsewhere.
"For us, it's going to be business as usual."
