For many New Yorkers, a bodega run is about as routine as it gets: grab a coffee, pick up a snack, maybe add a last-minute dinner ingredient—and be on your way. But what if your neighborhood bodega could also be the place you picked up a bottle of wine for dinner?
NYC bodegas and convenience stores are joining a growing push to expand alcohol sales in New York, with a coalition of major grocery retailers, convenience stores, bodega groups and wineries asking state lawmakers to rethink the rules around where New Yorkers can buy wine and spirits.
What is changing in the debate over NYC alcohol sales?
The Coalition to Expand Consumer Choice has broadened its ranks. Historically led by big-box retailers like Wegmans, Target, Walmart, and Amazon/Whole Foods, the coalition now includes local bodega and convenience store associations alongside New York wineries.
- The Goal: Modernize New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to allow grocery and corner stores to sell wine and spirits.
- The Argument: Supporters argue the state’s current rules are outdated relics of the Prohibition era that limit consumer convenience and restrict market growth for local producers.
Could bodegas actually sell wine and hard liquor?
Under active state legislation, yes. Senate Bill S9032 (and its companion Assembly Bill A9284) would allow grocery stores to apply for licenses to sell both wine and liquor. Crucially, the bill’s explicit definition of a “grocery store” includes traditional NYC bodegas.
- Current Status: The bill was introduced in January 2026 and sits in the Senate Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee.
- Bottom Line: The bill has not passed into law yet. Local corner stores cannot sell wine or spirits today.
What about canned cocktails and hard seltzers?
The proposal also touches on ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, including premixed canned cocktails and spirit-based seltzers currently restricted to liquor stores.
However, bodega owners themselves are divided:
- Pro-Wine Consensus: Strong support exists for adding wine to everyday shelves.
- RTD Hesitation: Some owners worry that offering high-ABV canned liquor drinks could create public disruption around their storefronts.
Why are independent liquor stores fighting the bill?
New York’s roughly 4,000 licensed liquor stores hold exclusive retail rights for off-premises wine and spirits sales, and they view this bill as an existential threat.
- Economic Risk: Retailers argue that allowing massive chains and thousands of bodegas to sell the same products will wipe out independent liquor stores.
- High Stakes: While grocery stores have lobbied for wine sales for nearly two decades, adding hard liquor and bodegas to the coalition has turned this into one of the biggest legislative battles in Albany.
What happens next?
The coalition is urging Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to pass the reform. Whether S9032 moves out of committee depends on negotiations between grocery chains, bodega groups, wineries, and the vocal opposition from independent liquor store owners.
For now, your local bodega routine remains unchanged—you’ll still need to visit a dedicated liquor store for that bottle of wine to pair with your dinner.