Washington Grocery Stores Line Up To Sell Hard Liquor After Law Changes

Albertsons, Safeway and Rosauers are preparing to be among the first businesses to line up behind Costco to sell hard alcohol in Washington, following the passage of a state initiative that privatizes liquor sales.

After that, it's anybody's guess about who's going to jump into sales of booze.

One of the best ways to predict what will happen is probably by looking at which stores already carry beer and wine and meet the initiative's requirement of being at least 10,000 square feet, said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Control Board in Olympia.

Similarly, a good indication of what Costco will keep in stock might come from states where the warehouse store already sells hard liquor, and tends toward a limited number of varieties in half-gallon sizes, Smith said. Costco didn't return calls left at its Issaquah headquarters.

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