Despite liquor stores designated as essential businesses across the country, New Mexico now makes two states that have ordered standalone alcohol retailers to close amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced additional restrictions this week to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. This included the forced closure of all non-essential businesses, a category that expanded to contain all standalone liquor stores.
Consumers in the state can still buy alcohol from essential businesses that carry these products, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, distilleries and breweries.
“The only way for us to stop the spread of this virus is for New Mexicans to stop interacting with each other,” says Gov. Lujan Grisham in a press release. “New Mexicans must be crystal-clear on this point: Right now, every time you leave your house, you are putting yourself, your family and your community at risk. Only by distancing from one another, by remaining home except for essential or emergency travel, can we limit the spread of this virus to the point that it does not overwhelm New Mexico.
The other state that has shut down standalone alcohol stores is Pennsylvania.
I hope Total Wine and other’s sue sue the crap out of New Mexico, aside from being the worse state in the union, it also has terrible government.
I’m reading this in 2023 and it’s hard to believe we accepted this nonsense. But we did.