Cherry Hill to Expand Liquor Sales

Shopping in Cherry Hill is about to get more convenient. Township lawmakers will now allow a supermarket or big box store like Target or Walmart to sell liquor as well as groceries.

It's a convenience the Wegmans in Mt. Laurel, Burlington County, has been offering for almost three years. The fact that you can buy cauliflower and a bottle of wine in the same place? "You can't beat it," one shopper insisted. "If I'm going to be cooking up a storm this weekend, I don't want to run around too much."

But not every supermarket and box store in Cherry Hill will get the opportunity. The township will be auctioning only one liquor license next month to the highest bidder. That means only one store will get to open a liquor section within its walls. Wherever that is, shoppers are ready to follow. "I think it'll be more convenient to be able to do one-stop shopping," Kristin Egan, a Cherry Hill resident, told Fox 29. Egan has a young daughter, so an extra stop means "putting her in the car and going to another store. One stop would be much easier for me." Mary Kay Murray of nearby Haddonfield agrees it will make life easier. "Absolutely, absolutely. In and out of the car no more, no."

But that may be bad news for liquor stores like Cherry Hill Spirits. The old ordinance required liquor stores to be stand-alone buildings. Under the new rules, liquor sales might be only part of a company's much larger business, allowing it to buy more for less and passing the savings along to customers. Great for consumers, but not necessarily for small business owners. "We've been here for eight years," Asvin Patel, part-owner of Cherry Hill Spirits, told Fox 29. "This is our livelihood. We have spent a lot of money, time in this township."

A Cherry Hill Township spokeswoman insists the measure is designed to help keep local businesses competitive against nearby towns like Mt. Laurel and Cinnaminson, both of which allow supermarkets to sell alcohol.