La Galere Markets of Coral Gables recently asked the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco for approval to install “self-checkout micro marts” serving wine and beer. The company wants a declaratory statement that the machines would be legal under existing state law and regulations.
La Galere, which does not have a liquor license, plans to place the micro marts “in residential condominium developments in several Florida locations,” according to its original filing. The machines also would sell sandwiches and snacks. LaGalere noted condo residents would have to pass through “checkpoints” to access the machines and use their “pre-approved” fingerprints to buy any alcoholic beverage. The machines would be monitored at all times by surveillance cameras.
The Beer Industry of Florida, the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association and the Florida Independent Spirits Association filed separate motions to intervene in the case. They claim LaGalere seeks to sell “alcoholic beverages through self-checkout procedures with no human being present on the licensed premises. A determination that sales of alcoholic beverages may be made by a vendor completely in the absence of any on-site human supervision is the type of decision that should be made by the legislature, not by the division.”
The beer and liquor groups’ filings added allowing the La Galere proposal “would open the door to other technological supervisory schemes that may not be as sophisticated. In other words, it’s a slippery slope that could lead to other concepts such as the purchase of beer and wine from a manufacturer’s or distributor’s warehouse location that is supervised only through technology.”
La Galere argued the state already allows mini-bars in hotel rooms, “which have no employee supervision and generally lack anything other than superficial age verification,” their filing stated.
An administrative hearing has not been scheduled.
