ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County business owners are trying to keep up with the demand for craft beers and fine wines, but an old law is making it tough to fill those drink orders.
County Council President George Leventhal discussed the issue at Friday鈥檚 Ad Hoc Committee on Liquor Control meeting. The county uses a prohibition-era system to keep a lock on alcohol distribution. That鈥檚 created headaches for bar and restaurant owners who have to funnel their orders through Montgomery鈥檚 bureaucracy.
鈥淭he problems that we are having with liquor distribution that are making it harder to run a restaurant here are becoming more acute,鈥� council member Hans Riemer said.
Restaurant owners say they get deliveries of products they didn鈥檛 order. Or they get what they ordered long after submitting a request. That鈥檚 despite a recent update to the county liquor department鈥檚 software.
Demands are high: Between the booming craft beer industry and growth of local wineries, there鈥檚 an appetite for new and novel items. The county鈥檚 old-fashioned distribution can鈥檛 keep up. That means the potential loss of business to D.C. and neighboring counties.
鈥淭hey will put it solely on your shoulders for not having it,鈥� said Michael Jones, Operating Partner of American Tap Room in Bethesda. 鈥淎nd they鈥檒l go elsewhere.鈥�
The county鈥檚 liquor control department is working toward improvements by year鈥檚 end. Reimer is working with Montgomery County鈥檚 delegation to Annapolis to establish a state law that allows private distributors to fill orders for boutique wines and beers, while keeping the county鈥檚 monopoly on widely distributed national brands.
Jones hopes the legislation passes. He鈥檚 tired of apologizing to his customers for the county鈥檚 liquor inventory.
91欧美激情’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
