An opinion piece in The Washington Post and an article in the latest edition of Bethesda Magazine have put the spotlight back on the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control (DLC).
The Post op-ed, written by Evan Glass, a District 5 candidate for the Montgomery County Council, and Jackie Greenbaum, co-owner of Jackie’s Restaurant and the Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring, argues that the DLC constricts the number of alcoholic beverage options available at local restaurants.
“Often missing in Montgomery County are a full selection of micro-brews, small-batch liquors and high-end or locally made wines. Why? To get such products, restaurateurs must spend hours navigating the county’s complex ordering systems,” Glass and Greenbaum wrote.
In the May/ June issue of Bethesda Magazine, writer Louis Peck interviewed public officials, local restaurant and liquor store owners, and the DLC’s director for a comprehensive look at the effect the agency has on the county.
In that article, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, himself a county resident, says: “Montgomery County needs to get out of the liquor business. They don’t do a good job of it.” The article also looks at concerns connected to privatizing the liquor business in the county, including the fate of 350 union employees who work for the department and the loss of about $25 million in annual revenue the department brings in for the county. The county is the only jurisdiction in the country to control both the wholesale distribution and the retail sale of beer, wine and liquor.
This week we posted the Bethesda Magazine article online.
