Downtown stores pledge to comply with Alcohol Impact Area
Another voluntarily cuts back on target beverages
OLYMPIA – Several local retailers have been pledging since 2011 to prevent youth access to alcohol and tobacco by closely following state laws and limiting ads and youth-targeted products in their stores. This year, members of the Responsible Retailer Coalition have gone further and are voluntarily taking extra steps to support local ordinances and statewide campaigns.
One Retailer Coalition member, Hulbert Shell on Plum Street, already has complied with Olympia’s Alcohol Impact Area ordinance, which restricts high-alcohol-content, high-volume beverages sold downtown. Assistant manager Catherine Lee cited her desire to create a “family atmosphere” as a key reason for their action. Other downtown stores, including Ralph’s Thriftway, the state liquor store and Adam Market, have pledged to completely comply with the voluntary ordinance; one store, Washington Street Market, reports cutting back on target products by 20%.
Focusing on its mission to advance the health and safety of youth, TOGETHER!, the nonprofit agency behind the Retailer Coalition, also asked these stores to draw the line between youth and alcohol as part of the statewide “Let’s Draw the Line” campaign. Stores signed a pledge card and followed training, product placement and advertising guidelines to receive statewide recognition. Hulbert Shell and another Retailer Coalition member, Capitol Shell on Capitol Boulevard, supported the campaign, along with a store only recently licensed to sell alcohol, Adam Market on Fourth Avenue. “These are important efforts,” Olympia Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones noted at the Apr. 24 City Council meeting after TOGETHER! staff presented this information. “We have responsible retailers in our city. I didn’t doubt that, but it’s nice to see” these 3 stores as examples.
For more information about TOGETHER!, go to www.ThurstonTOGETHER.org. Find out more about the pledge campaign, or join the movement, at www.LetsDrawtheLine.org.
