Litchfield BZ -

Greg and Cynthia Swan, owners of Bantam Country Liquors, are opposed to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to allow package stores to open on Sundays. BZ photo

A proposal by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that would reform the way Connecticut package stores do business and would allow Sunday sales is being met with scorn by most local package store owners.

Malloy, looking to generate more tax revenue for the state and ease its budget crisis, is proposing several changes to the way beer, liquor and wine are distributed and regulated in the state.

Giving package store owners the right to sell booze on Sunday is a big part of the proposal. A sampling of package store owners in Litchfield and Morris believe Sunday sales won't increase their business at all and would in fact make doing business more costly.

"It's asinine and would be a detriment to the small package stores," said Greg Swan, who owns Bantam Country Liquors with his wife, Cynthia. "The system now is set up so small stores can compete. Why change it?"

For the Swans, Sunday sales would mean an extra day of work. They said they work 80-85 hours a week as it is and enjoy having Sundays off. All Sunday sales would do, they said, is spread six days of sales across seven days.

According to Malloy, however, Sunday sales would go a long way to stemming the tide of Connecticut residents who flock to Massachusetts to buy beer, wine and liquor not only on Sundays but every day. Unlike Connecticut, Massachusetts doesn't have a sales tax on beer, wine and liquor. Connecticut also increased its excise tax on alcohol last year as it looked to ease the budget crisis.

"People from the border towns are still going to drive to Massachusetts," Greg Swan. "Why (Malloy) thinks that will stop is beyond me."

Like the Swans, Peter Carpenter of the Village Wine Cellar in Litchfield isn't buying Malloy's proposal for Sunday sales.

"I don't see myself ever getting more sales out of it," Carpenter said. "Sunday sales, though, is the least of my worries. There are a lot of other parts to this proposal that I don't support."

Malloy's plan also calls for package stores to be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. and to sell snack foods and hors d'oeuvres, which he believes would allow them to be more competitive with grocery stores. The plan eventually would give grocery stores the ability to sell more than just beer and some convenience stores would have a chance to sell beer.

Malloy also calls for changes in discounts from distributors and in minimum markups packages stores are beholden to.

"All of this would only cost me more, at every level," Carpenter said. "It would lower profit margins and wouldn't protect small business. There are so many unanswered questions."

David Fischer, owner of the Morris Spirit Shop, said nothing would be gained from Sunday sales. In the long run, Malloy's proposal would force many small package stores out of business, according to Fischer.

"Saturday would become an average day and Sunday would be an average day as far as sales, so what would we gain?" Fischer said. "Absolutely nothing. Opening on Sundays would only add to my operating costs. Besides, I'm a mom and pop store and I like to have a day off."

Mike Higgins, owner of the Litchfield Hills Wine Market in Litchfield, believes Sunday sales would do nothing to help his business. BZ photo

A the Litchfield Hills Wine Market in Litchfield, owner Mike Higgins, too, doesn't want to work on Sundays and believes there wouldn't be much of a profit to be gained from being open an extra day.

"We'd see an uptick in business maybe during the summer, but for eight months of the year, there would be no impact on sales," Higgins said. "Will I open on Sundays if the law is passed, yes, but I'd rather it stay the way it is."

Not every package store owner is opposed to opening on Sundays. Chris Jeans, owner of Casa Bacchus Wine Shoppe in Litchfield supports the idea. Sunday, Jeans said, is a big shopping day and consumers should have the right to buy alcohol on it.

"I'm seemingly the only one in Litchfield County who is for it," Jeans said. "You can do anything on Sunday except buy wine. That speaks of a generation and mindset that is no longer relevant.

"Our customers are important and we need to be open for them," Jeans said. "Sunday sales would be very important for revenues and customer convenience."

At the Crossroads Package Store in Morris, owner Andy Patel, who works six days a week, said he doesn't want to work a seventh, but would if he had to.

"I'd make a little extra money on long weekends, but it wouldn't make a significant difference," Patel said. "I don't see it generating a lot of revenue for the state."

The Connecticut Package Store Association, which lobbies on behalf of package stores, claims an additional 500,000 gallons of beer, 5 million bottles of wine and 1 million bottles of liquor would have to be sold on Sundays to make up for the amount of annual sales revenue Malloy claims is being lost to border states.

"That's simply not possible," Greg Swan said of the prospects of that much booze being sold in a year.

Below, Chris Jeans, owner of Casa Bachus Wine Shoppe in Litchfield, supports Sunday sales, saying it would be a good way to meet the needs of customers. BZ photo