Malloy: liquor law overhaul more than Sunday sales

Orange, Conn. (WTNH) - Governor Dannel Malloy says his plan to overhaul the state's liquor laws is much more than just Sunday sales. The Governor says his plan will not only lower prices, but it will also create jobs.

On Tuesday the Governor visited the home of one of the largest beer distributors in the nation to promote his push for the overhaul of the state's liquor laws.

The 215 employees at Dichello Distributors in Orange send hundreds of cases of Anheuser-Busch products to retailers in New Haven and Fairfield county every day.

Representatives of all eleven distributors in the state made their way to Orange Tuesday to tell the Governor they are all on board for his liquor law overhaul.

"This is a comprehensive package to modernize, in line with our neighboring states who we're competing with," Malloy said, "but we're actually not competing with...they're eating our lunch."

Malloy noted that the same bottle of wine can cost $7 less in Massachusetts and that vodka, gin, and whiskey can be $5 to $6 less.

On the tour the Governor revealed that he had gone to two package stores in Massachusetts last Sunday, seen hundreds of Connecticut plates in the parking lots and is now convinced state pricing policy must be changed and that this too is a jobs issue.

Malloy says the change would reduce the price of a case a beer between $2 and $5.

The CEO at Dichello Distributors says the combination of lower prices and Sunday Sales is a winner.

When News 8 asked CEO Edward Crowley if he would hire more drivers if the plan went through he replied, "In our business it wouldn't only be truck drivers. We would be hiring more truck drivers, we would be hiring warehouse personnel because of the volume coming in, so it's a trickle down affect."

There would be up to seven percent more business just in beer sales because Sunday is now the biggest grocery shopping day of the week.

State lawmakers are planning an all day public hearing at the State Capitol on the proposed liquor law overhaul in two weeks.