Liquor law changed to allow grocery bar/grills in Kansas City

It took weeks of debate, but the Kansas City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a liquor law change to allow bar and grill establishments within large grocery stores in the city.

The request had come from Hy-Vee for its store near Northeast Englewood Road and North Oak Trafficway, but it would also affect Whole Foods, Sprouts and other grocery stores of at least 15,000 square feet.

Once the law takes effect in 10 days, they will be able to sell alcohol by the drink as well as food in a bar/grill area of the store.

Scott Gilbert, director of the Hy-Vee store on Englewood Road, told council members last month that the market grill concept began about five years ago and has been successfully adopted elsewhere in the area, including in Gladstone, Raytown and Independence in Missouri, and in Mission, Overland Park and Olathe in Kansas.

That’s why he assumed it wouldn’t be an issue in the renovated Kansas City store. But just before the store prepared to open its new bar/restaurant on June 16, he learned that Kansas City’s existing liquor code didn’t allow groceries to sell liquor by the drink. The store’s market grill business suffered without the liquor license, and all seven of the bartenders quit.

Supporters said the new measure was needed to allow Kansas City groceries to stay competitive with those in the suburbs. It allows the managing officer of a large grocery store to apply for and receive any type of retail sales-by-drink license. But council members took pains to exclude convenience and drug stores, general merchandise stores, cigar or tobacco stores, confectionary stores or pre-packaged liquor stores from retail sales by drink.

Gilbert assured the council that customers will not be allowed to take wine or beer out of the restaurant into the grocery area. He said that these operations are run professionally and that none of the 92 Midwestern stores with this concept has experienced problems with intoxicated patrons.

In other actions Thursday, the council approved a $7 million city taxpayer contribution to a $96 million conservatory for music and dance that the University of Missouri-Kansas City hopes to build downtown, just south of the Kauffman Performing Arts Center. The city contribution helps UMKC meet its goal of raising $48 million for the project. The state of Missouri is being asked to fund the other $48 million, and the city money won’t be provided until all the funding is committed.

The council also approved a new wage deal through April 2020 with the city’s largest union, Local 500 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The raises in the collective bargaining agreement are expected to cost the city about $21.4 million over the next four years. The agreement also calls for the formation of a committee to analyze any proposals to outsource functions now performed by city union employees.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Liquor law changed to allow grocery bar/grills in Kansas City."