Maryland lawmakers make new effort for beer and wine sales in grocery stores
Maryland lawmakers are once again pushing legislation that would allow grocery stores to sell beer and wine.
The Alcoholic Beverages and Modernization Act of 2026 was filed last week in the House of Delegates and is sponsored by several state leaders.
The ban on beer and wine sales in Maryland grocery stores has been in place since 1978, and continues to spark debate for business owners, lawmakers and residents.
"We are seeing grocery stores close. We've seen four new grocery stores have closed across the state of Maryland," said Maryland Delegate Amprey, who is one of the supporters. "Beer and wine in these stores can be the lift that they need in order to make sure their margins are in a place where they can stay where they are, and people in the communities have access to fresh food."
According to the Maryland Retailers Alliance, 80% of Marylanders support this bill.
Maryland is one of four states that doesn't allow those types of sales. Delaware, Rhode Island and Alaska are the others.
Several past attempts to pass that law have failed.
Previous attempts
For years, Maryland lawmakers have tried to pass laws that would lift the ban on beer and wine sales in grocery stores.
Before the 2025 Legislative Session, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore showed support for an effort that would have allowed grocery stores to sell beer and wine.
However, the ban was not overturned.
"It doesn't make sense for Maryland to be out of step with the rest of the country, but the reality is, if people want to come and have beer and wine, one of the common threads I see and hear is people want this to happen," Gov. Moore previously said. "This is about listening to the people."
In 2017, a panel of beer industry leaders discussed whether to promote sales in grocery stores. But, they questioned whether Maryland lawmakers would support the change.
"It's time to end the ridiculousness, the fact of the matter is we are living in an era of prohibition, in the 21st century, and the only people who can effect this change are elected officials," said Adam Borden, with Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws.
Former Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot advocated for the sale of alcohol in grocery stores in 2018, saying, "I know it's a strange, quirky system I'm advocating. It's called free enterprise, it's called capitalism and it works."
In 2021, Maryland lawmakers considered a bill that would have allowed grocery stores to qualify for liquor licenses, required that they offer a full line of products in priority funding areas. However, the bill stalled after being introduced in both the House and Senate.
In July 2024, Maryland passed a law that allowed local retailers to deliver alcoholic beverages through third-party platforms like DoorDash.
Supporting beer sales in grocery stores
Last December, a group of advocates called for lawmakers to pass legislation that would permit beer and wine sales in grocery stores.
Representatives from the Maryland Consumer Freedom Coalition say it is "long overdue."
The group said the beer ban in grocery stores deprive "consumers of a simple convenience that the vast majority of Marylanders support."
Last year, Cailey Locklair, the president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, argued this legislation would help the overall economy.
"Every time a Maryland family crosses that border to shop, we don't just lose their beer and wine sales," Locklair said. "We lose their entire grocery basket. We lose sales tax revenue. We lose spending that should be supporting Maryland jobs and Maryland communities."
Those in favor of the bill say they also want safeguards to protect existing liquor stores, including not creating new licenses, a distance restriction between grocery and liquor stores, and a limited square footage allowed for alcohol in grocery stores.
Against the sales of beer in grocery stores
Some residents and business owners disapprove of beer and wine sales in grocery stores, claiming that it would hurt craft distillers and small businesses, because they would have to compete with convenience stores and larger chains.
The co-owner of Wells Discount Liquors on York Road in Baltimore told WJZ in 2024 that if the law is changed, the corporate grocery stores will make it hard for small liquor stores and their employees to survive.
"The thousands of losses of jobs between distributors and our wine salesman that come in to do ordering and stuff is pretty significant," Roxann Rogers said.
In 2024, Rogers said she hoped that small business liquor store owners would have an opportunity to have a say before the General Assembly makes a decision.
"Well, it'd be nice if (Gov. Moore) came and talked to people on the board or spoke to owners of these small businesses like us," Rogers said. "All of the grocery stores this would go into are owned by corporations outside of our state so there would be no financial gain for Maryland."
