Boston City Council

Boston Liquor Store Owners Come Up With Counter to Proposed Mini Bottle Ban

A group of package store owners met Thursday night, and plan to present their counter-proposal to Councilor Ricardo Arroyo next week

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A group of liquor store owners in Boston is pushing back against a proposal to ban mini bottles of alcohol, saying that the idea would impact their bottom line.

The owners of package stores from neighborhoods across the city met on Thursday night to come up with a counter-proposal to Councilor Ricardo Arroyo's idea to ban the small liquor bottles.

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A proposed ban on the sale of miniature alcohol bottles in Boston will be discussed at Wednesday's city council meeting.

Arroyo has said that getting rid of them would help the environment, and also cut down on alcohol abuse.

However, the group of business owners feels that banning them is a bad idea, so they've come up with another proposal. Part of that plan would be to give 5 cents for every bottle sold back to the city of Boston.

Business owners said that their "buy-back" plan could generate $300,000 to 400,000 per year.

On Wednesday, the hearing order filed by Arroyo is expected to be presented. That hearing order "is intended to bring representatives from the Boston Public Health Commission and Licensing Board before the City Council to discuss the benefits that such a ban would have on public health," a news release from Arroyo's office said.

"Instead of taking stuff away, there’s always a solution," Ramon Genao said, who owns a liquor store. "It’s just how do you come up with the solution and that’s the best thing... That money is going to go every year to the City of Boston in the low income areas. So that helps with any worries. It’s never been done anywhere else."

On Tuesday, the group of business owners plans to meet with Councilor Arroyo to talk about the counter-proposal.

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