ALBANY — The state budget passed last week includes measures that likely will mean more consumer choice in alcoholic beverages at restaurants and liquor stores, and they offer the potential for thousands of dollars in annual savings for individual businesses.
As part of an ongoing effort by the governor, legislators and the State Liquor Authority to modernize and otherwise reform New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, some of which dates to the end of Prohibition more than 90 years ago, the budget bans some fees charged by distributors and requires SLA approval for others that previously were unregulated and at times could nearly double the wholesale price of a case of wine or spirits.
“These provisions restore some balance, providing protection for small retailers from … wholesalers,” said Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association and a 40-year veteran of alcohol-related legislative battles. He estimated some of his members now spend up to $10,000 annually on multiple unregulated charges including for ordering less than the distributors’ minimums and for so-called split-case fees, which result when a restaurant or liquor store orders less than a full case of 12 standard bottles or six magnum-size bottles of wine or spirits…