Route 46 Shop-Rite Wins Council OK to Sell Booze

The Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council at its Tuesday meeting approved a liquor license transfer for the supermarket on Route 46.

Company spokesperson Ned Gladstein testified before the council that the market was asking the council for permission to sell alcohol within the store. Gladstein said most of the liquor would be confined to a particular aisle of the supermarket, but the license would allow the store to feature particular items in different areas of Shop-Rite.

Gladstein also said the market would have additional security and video surveillance tools to ensure that operations at Shop-Rite continued to run smoothly once the changes were made at the store.

When the public was given an opportunity to question the board on the matter of the Shop-Rite request, Dr. Louis Valori stated that he opposed the move, saying it was inappropriate for a market where residents often shop with their children to have alcoholic products visible.

Other concerns raised were about how the store would deal with potentially drunk and disorderly customers during hours when the law does not allow liquor to be sold.

Gladstein pointed to other New Jersey markets who successfully offer alcohol products in the manner Shop-Rite wishes to employ, including the Kings Supermarket in Short Hills. He said the setup is not one that would attract the inebriated.

Councilman Michael dePierro mentioned that he visited supermarkets offering alcohol and wanted to be assured that most of the wine and spirits sold would be in a specific section of the store. 

"If I'm looking for a merlot [wine], I want them all to be together," he told Patch.

Councilman Paul Carifi Jr. added that in researching the matter he heard from law enforcement colleagues in other New Jersey areas who reported that they have experienced no additional problems from supermarkets selling alcohol.

"They report nothing out of the ordinary," Carifi said.

Town Attorney John Inglesino suggested to the council that they make the "Planning Board-esque" move of attaching "reasonable" conditions to any approval, which he said would alleviate community concerns.

"These conditions would speak to the things Mr. Gladstein said tonight, such as conditions with respect to video surveillance systems, scanners... essentially memorializing the business practices that he represented here," Inglesino said. "In addition to that, [it would ensure that Shop-Rite] will modernize their security systems to be state of the art."

The lawyer said this would make sure that a precedent would be set to follow should other businesses come forward with similar requests.

DePierro then addressed Gladstein.

"It sounds like you are going to have the bulk of the liquor in certain aisles, but you want to have demos in the cheese aisle and other places," he said. "The bulk of the liquor is going to be in the same area?"

"Yes, all of the liquor that is going to be on shelves will be in an area ... and we will have displays elsewhere," the market representative explained. "You will be able to find the wine aisle as easily as you can find the cereal aisle."

Mayor James Barberio asked whether there would be a condition that hard liquor had to be relegated to a particular section. 

"I would resist that," Gladstein said.

Council President Brian Stanton asked whether it would be possible to wall liquor off with a gate, such as is done with the market's pharmacy.

Gladstein said no, and added that anyone intending to come into the market to cause trouble would have to drive into the building, given that it is set back about half a mile from Route 46.

"Hopefully the police will have apprehended a drunk before he drove into our parking lot," he said.

Ultimately, the council voted to approve Shop-Rite's license transfer with security-related conditions that will be drawn up and formalized by its attorney.