When you can buy booze at your grocery store
May 31, 2012, 12:36 PM | Updated: 1:58 pm
Your favorite store can start selling liquor at 12:01 a.m.
as the state gets out of the business, but don’t
expect to get your hands on booze until some time Friday.
Stores like Safeway and QFC, with 24-hour locations, don’t
plan on selling liquor until 6:00 a.m.
On Thursday, the Washington Supreme Court upheld a voter-
approved initiative privatizing liquor sales, just one day
before Initiative 1183 takes effect. More than
1,500 stores have the green light to start selling liquor
on Friday.
Voters approved the measure last fall, and the state
already auctioned off the rights to sell liquor at state
stores.
However, initiative opponents filed suit, arguing that the
measure violates state rules requiring initiatives to
address only one subject. The measure included a provision
for public safety funding.
A judge rejected that claim, but opponents appealed to the
Supreme Court. The entire measure would have been
nullified if the court determines voters would have
rejected the initiative without the public safety
provision.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
