In this week’s issue, Cienna Madrid examines the thinking behind a new initiative that would hand the liquor business squarely to grocers with over 10,000 square feet like Safeway, QFC, and—of course—Costco:
- John Malta
Last week, Costco filed an initiative that would close the state’s approximately 315 liquor stores while making 1,500 grocery retail outlets eligible to sell hard liquor. It’s the retail giant’s third attempt at privatization in the last year, thereby confirming fears of concerned parents, labor unions, lawmakers, and teetotalers: Costco has the money and the determination to privatize Washington’s archaic state-run system, even if it means pushing bills and initiatives at every opportunity until it succeeds through sheer voter fatigue. “We’re committed to the idea that these prohibition-era limitations on liquor and wine need to be corrected, so that’s what we intend to do,” says Joel Benoliel, a senior vice president with Costco.
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