Liquor prices won't rise in North Carolina — at least not yet — after state officials decided Wednesday to delay a vote on whether to increase the costs of some popular brands.
The decision came as restaurant and bar owners bombarded the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission with messages in opposition to the proposal in recent weeks. And they followed up with an in-person pressure campaign at a hearing Wednesday.
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The commission wants to raise prices on dozens of the cheapest liquor options on the market. Most drinks wouldn’t be affected, but many of the most popular options would. In recent years many drinkers have shifted to lower-cost options as inflation has tightened budgets.
Supporters say making those cheap drinks less cheap should help curb excessive drinking. The ABC Commission frames its proposal as an effort to reduce government costs tied to public health.
The effort also comes as the state’s ABC stores are grappling with falling revenues and reduced profits. A WRAL analysis shows ABC stores statewide made $178 million in profits in 2025 — down nearly $50 million from 2022 and 2023 — based on the system's measure of "profits before distribution." All of the state's 171 local ABC systems distribute some of their profits back to the state, to fund law enforcement, substance abuse help and other state government needs.
Opponents of the plan say the public health framing is a smokescreen to hide what they see as little more than a cash grab by the state to address those falling profits. The higher prices will put a burden on bars and restaurants, who will be forced to eat the increased costs or pass it on to customers. They warn the increase could put some establishments out of business.
“It'll push them over, it'll push their employees out of work,” Hardy Lewis, a lobbyist for the hospitality industry, said Wednesday. “These are North Carolina businesses doing the right thing, contributing to the economy and the culture of our state. And this policy is going to push many of them over that brink.”
Jason Smith, who owns Cantina 18 in Raleigh and Harvest 18 in Durham, said restaurants like his need to be maximizing their margins on cocktails to cover rising costs elsewhere.
“Those are the sales we're relying on to make this whole thing work,” he told WRAL in an interview.
Since the end of Prohibition, the state government has controlled liquor sales through the ABC Commission. And while local ABC stores have some leeway on what to charge for different products, the state can set baseline prices. It has been considering whether to raise prices — not on everything, but on several dozen of the absolute cheapest products.
The ABC Commission met Wednesday in Raleigh to vote on that proposal but in the end decided to delay, to give more time for studies and feedback.
The ABC Commission’s chairman, Hank Bauer, said the change is aimed at stopping alcoholics from drinking as much, since they tend to gravitate toward the cheapest products that this proposal would make more expensive. State reports have found that excessive drinking costs North Carolina billions of dollars every year in health and social costs.
“You see these people lined up as soon as the store opens,” Bauer said in an interview after the meeting. “They run in, they go directly to the inexpensive vodkas that are $4.65, and they're picking it up. I guarantee, if you came back the next day, it's the same people standing in line.”
But while raising the prices on those bottles would be intended to stop some individuals from affording as much liquor, Bauer added, he doesn’t think bars and restaurants would face the same concerns — since they mark up prices so much already.
He cited his previous private sector experience, in alcohol sales and distribution, to express confidence that industry profits won’t drop much.
“If you look at a bottle of [vodka] that's $4.65, and we’re going to raise it to $5.95, a bar is still going to make a $160 net profit per bottle,” Bauer said.
But for those in industry, the proposal for those higher prices is just one more thing eating into their margins and making it less and less likely they turn a profit. Many bars and restaurants shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many others still open are facing cost increases from every angle: Rent is higher, labor and insurance costs more, and the price of food is going up, too.
Kim Hammer, who runs Raleigh cocktail bars Bittersweet and Johnson Street Yacht Club, was one of dozens of people who submitted written comments on the proposal. Like most of them, her comment was in opposition.
“North Carolina's hospitality industry has worked incredibly hard to recover from unprecedented economic challenges,” she wrote. “While business has improved, margins remain extremely tight. Additional mandated cost increases make it harder for small businesses like mine to invest in employees, expand operations, and continue contributing to our local economy.”
The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, the state’s hospitality industry lobbying group, polled more than 800 registered voters over the age of 21 in July and found that 55% of voters were against the proposal, and only 12% supported it. It said general opposition was broad and bipartisan.
“North Carolinians are telling us clearly that increasing the price of alcohol is unnecessary, unwanted, and puts additional costs onto consumers at a time when household budgets are already stretched thin,” said Allen Thomas, president and CEO of the association, in a written statement.
On Wednesday, he addressed the ABC Commission and urged commissioners not to approve the price increases. He noted it’s not just businesses like restaurants that are dealing with inflation right now. Their customers are, too. And if customers start seeing prices go up, there’s a fear they’ll stop going out entirely.
“This is an environment where consumers are already carefully managing their household dollars,” Thomas said.