Heather Curtis
WMAL
WASHINGTON–Restaurant owners in Montgomery County told the county’s ad hoc liquor committee Friday the municipal control of liquor distribution is making it difficult to do business. The hearing was held as the committee decides whether the county’s Department of Liquor Control should change its distribution system and what options are feasible.
“It is an evil empire to most people in the [restaurant] business. No one’s held responsible. We can’t get product. It makes it very difficult to do business,” said Frank Shull of the RW Group, which owns a number of restaurants in the DMV including the Mussel Bar and Grill in Downtown Bethesda. He said he and his partners would be hesitant to open new restaurants in Montgomery County, even though they recently took over two failed restaurants in the county because it was the right opportunity.
Shull said one reason he feels the distribution monopoly is bad for business is because DLC distributors don’t show up at scheduled times.
“All of a sudden they show up, we’ve got, you know, 200 people in a restaurant in Bethesda. The manager’s got something going on, so they leave, and we don’t get our delivery” Shull said.
Not only do they show up randomly, Shull and Michel Jones of the American Tap Room in Bethesda said the DLC often doesn’t deliver the alcohol he orders.
“Every week, we are always short two to three kegs because we don’t have the order from the county because for whatever reason the warehouse says, ‘I don’t have it,'” said Shull. The distributor has been out of one of the restaurants most popular wines for nearly a month. He said privately-owned beer and wine stores have the wine in stock, but it would be illegal for him to buy it from them for the restaurant.
General Manager of Odega Wine Cellars and Cafe in Silver Spring, Mike Hill, said sometimes boxes delivered to him are labeled as containing one product when they actually have something different inside.
Leventhal said the stories about poor customer service disappoint him. He added the committee is hoping to come to a consensus about what can be done to improve the distribution of liquor in the county.
Some restaurant owners would like to see the county give up control of distribution of specialty items while continuing to distribute stock items including Miller Light beer, which are usually delivered more reliably. That is one option being considered. Others include allowing private companies to distribute some or all types of alcohol to restaurants, while the county would still control distribution to retail stores. The most drastic option is having the county totally get out of the liquor control business.
Any changes would need to be approved by the state.
(Source: WMAL.com)