Total Wine & More ― technically, one of its owners and his wife — has appealed its denial of a state retail liquor license in a quest to expand its Maryland-based liquor store chain to Oklahoma.
Robert L. Trone and Anna Marie Parisi-Trone, partners in Sooner Fine Wine & Spirit RLLP, sought the license to open a big store at 2135 S Interstate 35 Service Road in Moore, at the Shops at Moore shopping center, according to the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, commonly called the ABLE Commission .
An ABLE Commission hearing officer will hear Total Wine's appeal of the denial at 10 a.m. July 10 at the commission office at 50 NE 23. Oklahoma has strict limitations on who can own and operate liquor stores. If the denial is upheld, Total Wine can take the commission to court, said Lori Carter, assistant director and general counsel for the agency.
Total Wine & More apparently aims to challenge Oklahoma liquor law
Robert Trone and his brother, David Trone , started Total Wine in 1991 with a single store in Delaware, and have grown it to a $2.4 billion chain of 227 superstores in 28 states, challenging state laws when necessary. Total Wine bills itself as "America's Wine Superstore" and "the country‘s largest independent retailer of fine wine."
Total Wine challenged Tennessee's two-year residency requirement for anyone seeking an initial license to operate a liquor store, and the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the chain in a 2019 decision, calling it unconstitutional as a violation of the interstate Commerce Clause . Oklahoma is among 34 other states with similar laws.
In 2020, Total Wine succeeded in knocking down a similar law in Indiana. The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission denied its application for a liquor permit, citing a state law prohibiting it from issuing one to any business unless people living in Indiana for at least five years owned 60% or more of the company’s common stock.
Total Wine sued in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, saying the permit denial violated the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, and a judge agreed. Total Wine has grown in Indiana since .
RELATED: Total Wine & More, a liquor store chain, wants to open in Oklahoma. Will the state let it?
Oklahoma: 'No retail spirits license shall be issued to a ... business entity'
For the Trones, operating as Sooner Fine Wine & Spirits RLLP, and Total Wine & More to open a store in Oklahoma, state law would similarly have to be declared unconstitutional. It spells out that only people, not businesses, can hold a license:
"No retail spirits license shall be issued to a corporation, limited liability company or similar business entity."
Further, state law says, "No person may own any interest in more than two package stores; provided, a spouse of a retail spirits license holder may hold a separate interest in up to two (2) package stores." That could explain why Robert Trone, with 95% ownership in Sooner Fine Wine & Spirits, and his wife, with 5% ownership, applied together.
Neither Total Wine nor its local attorney, responded to inquiries from The Oklahoman.
RELATED: Why mom-and-pop liquor stores say they're doomed if Total Wine & More comes to Oklahoma
Total Wine & Moore wants to open in former Bed Bath & Beyond space
ABLE Commission records show that Total Wine aims to open a store in Moore in a 23,400-square-foot former Bed Bath & Beyond store under a 10-year lease signed in November with KRG Shops at Moore LLC, a business entity of Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group .
Kite Realty owns the 260,625-square-foot Shops at Moore center at the southeast corner of SW 19 and I-35. Total Wine & More would probably be considered a junior anchor, which usually have 15,000 to 30,000 square feet of space and specialize in a specific kind of product, such as wine and spirits.
At some Kite Realty shopping centers, Total Wine is considered an anchor, along with Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Homesense, and PGA Superstore.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Total Wine & More, denied a permit, appeals the decision; will it open an OKC-area store?
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