Vaudeville at the AFI
I’ve never personally seen a Vaudeville show, but I have a feeling that the Montgomery County Council Town (MoCoCoTo?) Hall meeting last night at AFI would have fit the bill pretty well. Karl from Silver Spring, Singular and I went, and we even scoped out the joint for our Blogosphere bretheren – much to no avail. (Dan? Jennifer? Were you in disguise?)
As referenced above, Karl has an excellent summary of the events. And it was unfortunate that the highlight of the night came so early in the proceedings. But having “bullshit” called on the council multiple times was good enough for me. Not that I necessarily agree, but it was amusing enough. And while we got a small question about The Fillmore at the end, there was an ominous dude in a black IFI t-shirt that was just two people back when they shut down questioning. That would have made things a little more interesting (though I would have told him to shut the hell up if he started bitching). Another question: Where was Marilyn Praisner?
What *was* interesting, though, is that Tuesday night I went to Olazzo (for $5 martini night, of course), and got a chance to talk one-on-none with our very own Marc Elrich, At-Large County Councilmember. And ironically, he walked through the door right as the conversation turned to MoCo’s monopoly on the alcohol trade in the county. (Free State? My ass.) He mentioned there was potential afoot to allow independent entities (i.e., small business owners) to set up shop in grocery stores to sell beer and wine.
The “Booze Corner” as I’m going to call it, would be independently owned and operated by someone not affiliated with the store, and it would be set up so it could be locked up after hours. Growing up with Blue Laws in Alabama, they just put broom handles across the cooler doors and turned off the lights inside them. Thank God I only lived 30 minutes from the Tennessee line. I’m going to assume that scenario wouldn’t cut it for the County, though. But the propsect of buying groceries (including beer) in one place without having to go to Sniderss or White Oak made me drunk with giddiness. Or maybe it was the martinis.
Did you know?
Each grocery store chain can have one of its stores in Montgomery County sell beer and wine? I didn’t. Another gem from Marc. One Giant, one Shoppers, one Snider’s, etc. Lots of other conversations with Marc I won’t detail here, but I have to say he totally changed my attitude. Not really knowing him, I always took him for someone on the No-Growth side of Smart Growth. That was a wrong assessment. And I think I might pay more attention to what the Council does for a while.
Next Up: That long-awaited Thayer Avenue Census Data I promised you a couple weeks ago.
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Re: Where was The Penguin? In the front row, cowering behind my note pad when the opening act threw his fit before the council.
Re: Where was Praisner? Still in the hospital after having surgery to replace a heart valve. Roger Berliner, who tore into the Fillmore deal on Tuesday, was also absent, tending to his sick wife. What a guy.
Re: Where was the booze? Not at the AFI that night. You’d think my tax dollar would score more than soda and cookies at a meeting with the county council. You can’t pump a Penguin with all that sugar and not expect her to crave high-sodium chips.
Perhaps your new buddy Elrich can hook us up with something stronger at the next town-hall meeting. It would make buzzword bingo more interesting.
I actually did know that about the grocery stores. You could make a game of finding which location has the beer & wine. For Giant, it’s the one in White Oak, but what about Safeway, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s? Can Two Buck Chuck be had in MoCo??
Curious… What exactly is the county’s objection to selling booze at supermarkets?
More importantly, why would it limit it to just one store in a chain that operates throughout the whole county???
The Shoppers’ is the one in College Park. I always assumed that Snider’s might have been grandfathered in, and that Shoppers’ sold enough sandwiches and congealed Jell-o salad to justify their beer sales.
And if anyone knows where the Trader Joe’s is, please please please tell me. And what about World Market? We used to live within walking distance of the one in Pentagon Row, and their wine selection and prices were pretty impressive. (And taken full advantage of in our household!)
Not sure why the supermarket thing is an issue– the county could still get their pound of flesh just like they do from the smaller merchants, right? I think part of the reason it has never ben changed was because they didn’t want to draw revenue away from the Mom & Pop, Beer-Wine-Deli businesses, which is why the “Beer Corner” idea was floated. Mom & Pop could ditch the Deli and move the Beer-Wine part into the corner of the local Giant.
Belated question: is it “Shopper’s” or “Shoppers’ “?
(And yes, there *is* a difference!)
Trader Joes is up 29 (Colesville), past Four Corners, on the right.
Isn’t that College Park Shoppers in PG County, though?
They sell alcohol at the Safeway at the intersection of Briggs Chaney and Rt. 29.
Um, yes. The College Park Shoppers is several miles inside Prince George’s County, but about ten minutes from both my house and my apartment in College Park. I love it so.
We should coordinate going to Town Halls. I think it would be nice to have more of the Blogging Collective at these normally dry meetings – and, had I known of the turnout, I would have gladly skipped a cappella rehearsal.
I’ve known Marc for years. You should pay waaaay more attention to how he votes than what he says.
First of all, that Trader Joe’s on 29 doesn’t sell beer and wine. Very unfortunate.
Second, you’re right, Sligo. There’s such a small business infrastructure around the beer and wine trade that it would kill these very good, established mom & pop stores to just allow the stores themselves to control it. (God save my Seminary Beer/Wine/Deli.) And I’m going to find out why this happened in the first place.
Third, I *will* pay more attention to how Marc votes. And I’ll be calling his office regularly, too.
There is a World Market in downtown CHevy Chase – right at Western and Wisconsin.
Closest TRader Joe’s is up Rt 29 – not TOO far but no luck on wine at TJ’s in MoCo – not ONE.
I actually heard this whole each chain can choose one store is a myth. There are only 4 grocery stores that sell liquor in Montgomery County, and they were all licensed before 1953 when the law went into effect. See http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dlrtmpl.asp?url=/Content/DLC/Liquor/Retail/FAQs.asp