Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In a largely symbolic move that allows consumers to place a sanction of their own on Russia, liquor stores around the country are choosing to respond to the Russian aggression by stopping the sales of Russian wines and spirits.
Another tactic taken by some liquor retailers is to put a spotlight on Ukrainian made products.
Locally, at the Premier Group, Russian products are off the shelves. "We thought certainly after the the unjust and unfair invasion of a Ukraine, we decided over the weekend to discontinue all Russian made products, not just the vodka, but also some beer in the gourmet store and some caviar also," says Jon Notarius. He says those products are bought and paid for, so for the time being they'll remain in the warehouse collecting dust.
Notarius notes two popular vodka brands are staying on the shelves. "A lot of people are familiar with Stolichnaya, which is a very Russian name is made, actually, in Latvia. Smirnoff, again, sounds Russian, but it's made in the United States for the last 90 years," explains Notarius. He says Russian vodka really only accounts for 1-2% of the vodka sold nationally.
Notarius says part of the reason for the decision is Buffalo has a strong Ukrainian community. "We just want to show that we are behind them and give them support. Certainly, it's a tough time for for them in particular," notes Notarius. He adds customers are showing support, too. "There are certainly a lot of people buying Ukrainian vodka. We have a couple of great vodkas very reasonably priced, and they're high quality. And I think that, you know, we're certainly seeing a lot more than usual because people feel like they just want to give the support to the Ukraine. I'd say that it's probably at least five times what we sold in the previous week before the invasion," says Notarius.
The approach to Russian products is different at Outlet Liquor. "We really haven't gone out of our way to promote any of those items or give them floor space. However, we haven't pulled those items for our shelves," says Rich Larroque. "Instead, we've gone the direction of more promoting some of the Ukrainian products that we have in stock." He says there are quite a few his store already carries, and there are some others he's considering adding to his shelves.
Larroque says he's not sure about going to the road of removing Russian products right now. "If there's conflicts with other places like China, you're going to boycott your cell phones and all the products made there? I just feel like we're just gonna leave things go the way they are, and not necessarily go out of our way to promote Russian products," explains Larroque.
He says he hasn't had much feedback from customers regarding his stance, and it's business as normal.