No Sam's Club Adams beer at Wal-Mart

Wanting to protect long-established local liquor stores from cut-rate competition, Carbondale Liquor Advisory Board member Mark Robinson put it this way to Wal-Mart management: "Your argument that you'll bring in more dollars to the community from out-of-town drunks I don't think really ices the cake," as Carbondale Denies Wal-Mart's Liquor Bid.

At issue is a limited number of Class C liquor licenses in a town that's very concerned that minors will purchase alcohol.

Writes Andrea Marie in the Southern, "Robinson argued that Wal-Mart will not go out of business if it does not sell alcohol in Carbondale. However, he said some local liquor stores might be hard pressed to compete with the retail giant because Wal-Mart can afford to make less profit per item than smaller stores. . . . While he acknowledged that Wal-Mart has been a presence in Carbondale for more than a decade, he said it is not perceived as a local store because it is not locally owned and much of the profit does not stay in the city."

The vote was 6-1, with only John Benshoff dissenting, because "the potential for lower prices was beneficial to consumers," whom "we have a duty to" he said.

If the duty of the Liquor Advisory Board is to the consumer . . . How about a license to the Neighborhood Coop to sell a shelf of beer made from organically-grown local ingredients, called "Mr. Natch's Home Brew"? This blog also has a duty to the consumer.