The New York State Liquor Authority says Wegmans Food Markets and five liquor stores affiliated with specific stores have been fined for “availing their liquor license.”
That means allowing a second party … who didn’t apply for the liquor license … to use it.
The liquor authority says stores in Rochester, Buffalo, Johnson City and Fayetteville, New York have affiliated liquor stores which were originally under separate management and obtained liquor licenses. The state says Wegmans took over management of those stores using their existing liquor licenses, which is a violation of state liquor law.
Wegmans says its affiliated liquor stores are each owned by a member of the Wegman family, not by Wegmans Markets, and it categorically denies the SLA claim. It says the corporation does not exercise control over the liquor stores and that the liquor authority is crediting complaints from competitors of the liquor stores over the facts.
Wegmans was fined $750,000 to settle a total of eight charges, including six of availing a liquor license, one for availing the license of a liquor wholesaler and one for illegally trafficking in wine. Each liquor store was also fined $75,000 for availing their license to Wegmans. That’s a total of more than $1 million.