1970s Beer Signs

Owners of store would like to host wine tastings

by Alex Ruoff, Staff Writer

Owners of Kensington�s first beer and wine store say they�re worried the recent law that allows them to sell alcohol also may keep their business from flourishing.

Susie Cooper, who owns Old Town Market in Kensington with her husband Rob Cooper, was the first and only business owner to purchase a license to sell beer and wine in Kensington last year after the town lobbied for the change in state laws. Kensington had been a dry town since its founding in 1894.

The pair retained the coffee bar and deli-sandwich counter at the market, but replaced much of their stock of groceries with beer and wine to help them compete with the nearby Safeway grocery store. They retained the services of a local sommelier to guide their selection.

Cooper said beer and wine sales have helped improve traffic at her store, but she hopes those numbers could grow further with more advertising. The law prohibits signage advertising alcohol.

The new, $200 per year licenses, restricted to three total, also do not allow stores to refrigerate their products or sell individual bottles or cans of beer. The hours of sale are shorter than the rest of the county, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. County stores are allowed to be open until 9 p.m.

Another problem Cooper is facing is a county Department of Liquor Control regulation that went into effect about the same time Kensington was approved for alcohol sales. That law prohibits wine tastings in Kensington, which normally allowed in other county stores.

�I thought; how fun would that be in terms of letting the neighborhood know we�re here and what we�ve got,� she said of the potential of wine tastings.

After conferring with the town�s attorneys, Department of Liquor Control spokeswoman Cathy Durbin said they decided it was a prohibited act and the law would have to be changed for the Coopers to host a wine tasting.

Kensington Town Councilman Sean McMullen said the laws were intentionally restrictive to ensure that any beer and wine store in Kensington wouldn�t result in alcohol consumption at nearby parks or a store that�s littered with signs.

He said he thinks wine tastings are in keeping with the kind of store the council wanted to promote, as long as it was allowed by the law.

�I would want to explore it,� he said. �I think that we should consider [allowing] it, if we can.�

aruoff@gazette.net