Convenience stores,
vexed by Indiana's unusual liquor laws, may have found another way to
offer customers cold beer — sort of.
Gas
stations will be selling reusable "Chill Indiana bags" that will make
beer cold "by the time that customer reaches their destination."
For
years, Indiana's gas stations and supermarkets have been thwarted by a
law that requires them to sell their beer at room temperature. Only
liquor stores can refrigerate beer for sale.
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| Convenience stores can't sell cold beer, so they're selling bags that can quickly make beer cold. (Photo: Kaitlin Lange/IndyStar) |
Chill
bags are the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store
Association attempt to draw attention to Indiana's laws and give
customers a way to enjoy cold beer.
"Want cold
beer? Then say, 'Goodbye' to Styrofoam coolers and bulky bags of ice,
and thankfully goodbye to overpriced scary liquor stores," an advertisement for the new bag says.
The
suggested retail price is $6.99, and customers can bring the bags to
any participating location to refill them with ice for free.
During
the 2018 legislative session, lawmakers approved Sunday alcohol sales, a
major change for a state that was often on the receiving end of
jokes for prohibiting them. However, a provision to allow gas stations
to sell cold beer was quickly shut down.
Expanding cold beer sales and allowing retail sales of alcohol on
Sundays are something many Indiana residents have long wanted and an
issue that could be gaining traction. But a complex set of forces has
kept that from happening.
Dwight Adams/IndyStar
Lawmakers will continue studying possible changes to Indiana's alcohol laws this summer and fall as part of a commission.
"This
should not be viewed as a solution to our cold beer fight, as that
battle continues. There remains no public policy reason to allow liquor
stores to sell cold beer but deny that right to grocery and convenience
stores," said Scott Imus, executive director of IPCA. "This innovative
approach does not run afoul of the cold-eer prohibition because the
customer will be chilling the beer after the point of purchase."
Chill bags are not the first attempt to get around the law.
In
2016, a gas station chain started selling burritos in a small
restaurant area within their convenience stores. That enabled the chain,
Ricker's, to purchase the type of liquor license that restaurants use
to sell alcohol, including cold beer.
Once
lawmakers found out, they drafted legislation to prevent Ricker's from
selling cold beer, prompting a debate about Indiana's alcohol laws.
During debates, convenience-store owners emphasized that cold beer sales were vital in order to stay competitive.
"Our
business has evolved over the years and has had to to stay
competitive," said Chuck Taylor Jr., whose family owns 22 convenience
stores, under the Chuckles brand. "Why are Indiana beer laws stuck in
the 1930s?"
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