Our goal is for retail food stores to be able to sell wine to their customers. This means changing a long-standing law that restricts wine sales to liquor stores.

The Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association is advocating this change. The association represents large corporate stores and small independent grocers across the state.

What will it take to be victorious?

Our path to victory is with consumers – a.k.a. registered voters – who support this change. Our odds of success increase dramatically every time Tennesseans who want this change call their elected officials and ask for their support.

Why this change?

Consumers are driving the need for change. Retail food stores are promoting this legislation because the most frequently asked question in a retail food store is, “Where’s the wine?”

Customers are often two things – befuddled and flabbergasted – when they learn they can only buy wine in a liquor store. Tennessee has unfortunately been this way since Prohibition ended.

Red White and Food is about consumers having more choices of where they can purchase wine.

The second reason is that retail food stores have proven they can sell beer safely and responsibly. They have earned the opportunity to sell a product that pairs naturally with the food they sell. 

The final reason is related to the first. Wine is the second-fastest growing category in retail food stores. Tennessee stores are prohibited by law from taking advantage of an opportunity to grow their business. Grocery stores pay taxes, employ thousands of Tennesseans, and give generously to their communities. They deserve an opportunity to compete.

Our proposal

Our legislative proposal has several parts:

1. It creates a license that allows retail food stores to sell wine.
2. It restricts licenses only to localities where the citizens have voted for retail package stores (approx. 85 localities around the state).
3. It provides liquor stores (retail package stores) the opportunity to sell ice, soft drinks, mixers, glasses, corkscrews, and other items normally associated with alcoholic beverages.

Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) is our primary sponsor in the Senate. Rep. David Shepard (D-Dickson) is our primary sponsor in the House.