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THE ALLIANCE OF ALCOHOL INDUSTRY ATTORNEYS & CONSULTANTS

Early Bird Gets The WIGS?

Maybe so, if you are a food store looking to renew your wine in grocery store license, which we affectionately call WIGS.

What gives?

Picture this.  Several hundred grocery stores all filed applications to obtain liquor licenses to sell wine beginning July 1, 2016.  The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, acting with near superhero powers, pre-approved WIGS applications in droves in June, allowing grocers to stock and prepare for the first day of wine sales.

This worked perfectly for the historic debut of WIGS on July 1, 2016.

Problem is, all those liquor licenses expire on the same date – July 1, 2017.  We see a train wreck in the making if human nature prevails and the vast majority of food stores wait until the last minute to try to renew WIGS licenses.

Conjures up the bizarre ode about Casey Jones’ untimely death saving the lives of scores of train passengers, often sung by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead:

Mrs Casey when she heard the news
Sitting on her bedside, she was lacing up her shoes
Children, children now hold your breath
You will draw a pension at your Papa’s death

We strongly encourage food stores to file applications for WIGS renewals as soon as possible.  For dilatory filers, our crystal ball conjures up images of headaches, red tape and possible interruptions in sales.

Fortunately, the ABC gave the industry a heads up about WIGS renewals and provided helpful instructions.  Read the FAQs here WIGSrenewal.  We will continue to update WIGS renewals as July 1, 2017 D-Day approaches.

Original author: William T. Cheek III

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