Some Prince George’s County liquor stores already deliver to their customers, even as the county liquor board considers a new law that would regulate the store-to-front-door exchange. Liquor stores throughout the county deliver beer, wine and liquor to clients who place orders from their homes, according to Prince George’s Liquor Control Board officials.
Those businesses include No. 1 Liquors, adjacent to the University of Maryland in College Park, according to campus police spokesman Marc Limansky.
While County Council members have expressed concern that the rule could make it easier for underage drinkers to illegally obtain alcohol, College Park stores have delivered alcohol for years without any known problems, Limansky said.
That’s because the liquor board prohibits deliveries to campus-affiliated dormitories or fraternity and sorority houses, he said.
“That probably explains why we haven’t had any problems,” Limansky said.
According to Maryland law, a liquor store needs only the written permission of a local liquor board to make deliveries.
Deliveries are legal in the District, though officials said not many liquor stores take the opportunity.
Potomac Gourmet, a grocery market at National Harbor that sells beer and wine, requested the Prince George’s liquor board’s permission to deliver.
The query led the board to draft the new rule, board officials said. The proposal sets local guidelines about deliveries and enforcing the drinking age.
Members of the liquor board did not respond to calls for comment.
Caroline Cash, director of the Maryland chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said there could be benefits to the proposal.
“The plus side is that you hope the person is then making the decision to enjoy their purchase in the privacy of their own home without driving,” Cash said.
On the other hand, the potential for abuse, particularly by those under the legal drinking age, has the council concerned.
Chairwoman Ingrid Turner, D-Bowie, asked State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks to look into the issue and said the council may send a letter expressing its concerns to the liquor board.
A public hearing is scheduled for June 28.
