Cheyenne City Council to revisit decision to not seek beer sales in convenience stores

Mar. 12—CHEYENNE — The Cheyenne City Council voted Monday to reconsider its previous decision against pursuing sale of alcoholic beverages below 5% ABV at grocery and convenience stores statewide.

Council member Ken Esquibel, who voted against the resolution two weeks ago, suggested the council reconsider its decision just before the meeting came to a close Monday.

"The vote was five-to-five, and I knew the councilmen had about 100 more hurdles to go through and had a real long shot and I just didn't want it to stop here," he said.

The first hurdle the council has is for this issue to pass city council. If approved, Cheyenne would then bring it before the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) for approval at its annual conference this summer. There, it would need a majority support of the 99 participating municipalities to be added to the WAM agenda for next year's legislative session. Then, it would need approval from the Legislature.

"So, to give it the opportunity and continue the discussion, especially the one we're having right now, it's good for it to be out in public and to have that discussion," Esquibel continued.

Executive Director of the Wyoming State Liquor Association Mike Moser spoke in opposition to the resolution drafted by council member Richard Johnson.

"I'm not sure why we need to make alcohol more accessible, and that's one of the concerns that I have," he said.

Moser said that it would make alcohol under 5% ABV more accessible to underage individuals through third-party sales and that it would be bad for small businesses.

He said that allowing all grocery and convenience stores, including million- and billion-dollar companies, a license to sell the approved alcoholic beverages would compete with smaller businesses who own liquor stores and give them a "freebie" instead of paying for a license.

Johnson, however, said seeing the resolution through would be good for business. He brought up an example of how it would be more convenient for tourists to pick up a six-pack of beer before going on their fishing or skiing trip, especially in rural areas.

"Tourism is now our No. 1 commodity, it's no longer mineral extractions. So, these are the types of things that we have to look at and that was a lot of the reason why I drafted this," he said.

If the Legislature were to approve this, Johnson said it would also make the state more attractive for new businesses to enter the market, like Trader Joe's.

"It's a handout to corporate chains that really don't need it and have other ways to get a packaged liquor store if they choose to do so," Moser said. "... They can play by the same rules that we played by since 1935."

"My problem is just on that date alone, that's Prohibition-era laws. This is going on 100 years now of the same thing," Johnson replied. "... When is the government in the business of keeping you in business? I just don't believe that individuals should be penalized because of something that came out in 1935."

Moser said that almost all states have some sort of control of the population related to liquor licenses and that it is normal for the state to control the product.

"Liquor licenses are a wonderful thing, but too much of a wonderful thing is still too much, and that's why we strictly control it," he said. "We're not selling burritos. Nobody ever caused a car crash and killed somebody because they had too many burritos."

The council voted to postpone the issue for further discussion until the next meeting March 25. Council members Michelle Aldrich, Pete Laybourn and Jeff White were the only three to vote against the postponement.

Aldrich said that putting this resolution before WAM as a potential budget item is a waste of time and money.

"We pay WAM to do a service for us, which is to lobby on our behalf," she said. "And I'm thinking about all the issues, as I've gone to the WAM meetings over the last three years, that are brought up and they're crucial and vital to small communities. Things like the housing shortages and the drug issues and all the things that small communities are battling.

"And I think using WAM and using their time, which is limited, and our investment to take something like this forward is not being a good steward of our dues nor their time. So, I'll continue to be a no vote."

Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.