NASHVILLE - Allowing grocery stores to sell wine would generate new jobs and new state revenue, according to a new study.
The economic impact study by Stonebridge Research Group, commissioned by a group advocating sales at retail food stores, projects Tennessee's wine market would increase by 25 to 55 percent if state laws are changed to permit grocery and convenience stores to sell wine.
The change also would create between 1,597 and 3,513 new jobs, the study found.
The Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association, which released the study, has pushed unsuccessfully for several years in the Legislature to let food stores sell wine. They plan to press the measure again.
Noting that Gov. Bill Haslam and legislative leaders have said job creation and dealing with revenue woes are top priorities, Jarron Springer of the grocers association said in a news release that "we are preventing Tennesseans from getting much-needed jobs if we don't pass this bill."