Chris Fine, executive director of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, said his group estimates that one in every four or maybe even one in every three of Colorado’s approximately 1,600 independent liquor stores could close as a result of the legislation and ballot issue. That would mean 400 to 600 shuttered retailers.
Few shots are ever heard at the busy northwest Longmont intersection of Hover Street and 17th Avenue. And yet it's a battlefield in a larger statewide war.
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As a result of a ballot initiative passed by voters last year, Colorado grocery stores started selling wine this month. Many of the state's independent liquor stores considered the initiative a big threat to their business. A recent study from Colorado State University looked at how beer sales in grocery stores impacted liquor sellers a few years ago.