Joe Canal's In Woodbridge Must Pay $90,000 Fine To The State

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Joe Canal's liquor store in Woodbridge will pay a $90,000 fine to the state —instead of losing their license — to resolve findings from the New Jersey Attorney General that they engaged in unfair trade practices with two of New Jersey's biggest liquor wholesalers.

This comes as part of a sweeping two-year investigation done by the state Attorney General and Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), where as many as twenty liquor stores across New Jersey agreed to pay fines.

The state's two biggest liquor wholesalers, Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates, will pay the biggest fines, an unprecedented $4 million each. Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates also agreed to change their business practices.

The investigation found that the wholesalers — which together account for approximately 70 percent of all wine and 80 percent of all spirits sold at wholesale in New Jersey — unfairly favored 20 of the state's largest liquor stores, such as Joe Canal's, and put smaller liquor stores at a competitive disadvantage.

They did this by manipulating the retailer incentive program (RIP), granting credit extensions and interest-free loans, and engaging in other discriminatory practices, said the AG.

“Simply put, Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates rigged the market in favor of a handpicked group of powerful retailers, leaving smaller businesses struggling to compete,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. “This settlement sends a clear message that we will not tolerate this manipulative and anti-competitive behavior.”

The RIPs provide cash rebates payed to retailers by wholesalers for purchasing certain quantities of alcoholic beverages. ABC regulations control the program by making RIPs available to all retailers on a non-discriminatory basis, by keeping the RIP payments to retailers relatively small, and by not allowing wholesalers to substitute RIPs for interest-free loans.

The investigation found that Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates were giving chosen retailers a financial advantage by issuing rebates more often and in greater amounts than allowed.

The Rt. 1 Joe Canal's is owned and operated by Birchfield Ventures, LLC. The Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville, also owned by Birchfield, must pay a $160,000 fine.

The Woodbridge Joe Canal's was charged with accepting the delivery of alcoholic beverages from Allied and/or Fenway upon terms that violated state regulations; accepting a loan from a wholesaler to pay a wholesaler and/or avoid being placed on cash-on-delivery status; receiving a RIP before paying the invoice, receiving a RIP in excess of allowed maximum on a product.

You can read the Joe Canal's consent order here: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/Birchfield-Ventures-LLC_Consent-Order.pdf

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