North Carolina’s alcohol sales surge as COVID-19 keeps people drinking at home
Alcohol sales in North Carolina are up as people are forced to stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Jeff Strickland, spokesman for the N.C. ABC Commission, said the state saw a 21% increase in liquor sales during March 2019.
He said ABC stores sold 38% more alcohol last month than this time last year.
But businesses selling liquor by the drink saw a 53% decrease in sales.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 2.4 million people worldwide and killed more than 200 people in North Carolina alone, Gov. Roy Cooper on March 17 ordered the closure of all restaurant dining rooms.
“We are not aware of any other time when on-premise permittees were unable to serve customers on site,” Strickland said. “It is certainly a unique time.”
On March 30, Cooper enacted a stay-at-home order that required everyone but essential businesses to close. ABC stores were considered essential.
The News & Observer left a voicemail with Cooper’s office asking why ABC stores were considered essential. Cooper’s office did not respond but forwarded the inquiry to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
“People need to stay home as much as possible,” said Kelly Haight, DHHS spokeswoman. “And while restaurants, bars and other areas of communal gathering must be closed, people should be able to buy items used in their day-to-day lives.”
Tax revenue for the state
The $1.2 billion industry in North Carolina allowed the state to collect $463 million in alcohol taxes, fees and revenue in the last fiscal year.
“It’s important to point out that the ABC system in North Carolina is not funded by the state’s General Fund,” Strickland said. “Instead it pays for its operation through the sale of liquor and it generates recurring revenue for both the General Fund and the local communities.”
That money funds local law enforcement, DHHS and municipal and county services, among other things. The state put $350 million of the revenue from sales of liquor at ABC stores into its general fund.
The surge in alcohol sales is being seen in counties across the state.
Wake County’s 25 stores had their second busiest month of the fiscal year last month, The News & Observer reported — even having to order more alcohol to sell.
In Mecklenburg County, store sales went up 30% but restaurant and bars sales decreased by 48%, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Fishbowl, an app that connects professionals to one another, recently surveyed its users to find out how many were drinking at home on the job. More than 12,000 professionals were surveyed and North Carolina had the highest portion of people responding with yes at 48%.
April is the first full month under a stay-at-home order. The ABC Commission won’t have complete numbers on how the order affected alcohol sales until the end of the month.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated how the state collected money for it general fund. (Updated April 24, 10:48 a.m.)
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 3:04 PM.