Wicomico County repeals prohibition-era liquor laws
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – July 1st marks the end of a prohibition-era liquor law in Wicomico County.
With Governor Wes Moore’s approval of House Bill 1340, local business owners will now have the option to purchase their liquor and spirits wholesale, rather than directly from the county.
“This monopoly has been in place since 1933, so when prohibition ended. So we are talking 91 years.”
Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano says that local restaurant and bar owners have spent decades asking for the option to choose where they purchase their liquor from: “Every other business here in Wicomico County operates on a free market except for our liquor. And so just opening that up a little bit is really going to help our businesses where they will be able to shop for different pricing.”
Giordano says that repealing the monopoly of the Liquor Control Board in Wicomico County has been a priority since she took office in 2022, but the challenge of getting legislation passed through the Maryland General Assembly required a whole team of local officials and business leaders.
“[Giordano] quickly realized that you’ve got to have all your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed. The Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Salisbury Committee, we decided, because this was an issue we would put together a task force,” said Mike Dunn, President of the Greater Salisbury Committee. He continued, saying that the task force–which included the director of the Liquor Control Board and Dispensary–quickly reached a consensus. “In fact, this was our only legislative recommendation: that bars, and restaurants, and clubs have the opportunity to purchase their liquor, not just from the liquor dispensary.”
The liquor dispensary system brings in an average of $1,000,000 per year to the county. Giordano said she isn’t worried about potentially losing some of that revenue: “The dispensary system is now able to sell beer and wine. They weren’t able to do that beforehand, and so now I think that that will help make that up.”
Mike Dunn emphasized that the new legislation is all about choice for business owners. They still have the option to go through the county’s dispensary system if that works best for them.
Wicomico County was one of only two counties the state of Maryland with a liquor dispensary system in place. Now the only remaining one is Montgomery County.
