By Arash Tafakor

If you run a bar, restaurant, or liquor store in Montgomery County, you’ve probably had your share of frustrations dealing with Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS). For those who don’t know, Montgomery County is one of the last places in America where the local government controls all alcohol distribution. If you want to sell alcohol here, you have no choice but to buy it through ABS. And if you’ve dealt with them, you know just how broken the system is.

Let’s start with the obvious: the selection is limited, prices are high, and the ordering process is a nightmare. ABS functions as a government-run middleman that doesn’t add any value but still takes a cut. Instead of allowing businesses to source directly from distributors like in most of the country, they force us to rely on a single, inefficient system. That means slow deliveries, stock shortages, and higher costs—all of which hurt small businesses already dealing with tight margins.

Then there’s the bureaucracy. Need a specific product for an event? Good luck. The ABS ordering process is slow and often unpredictable. Businesses can’t simply place an order and expect it to arrive on time; we’re forced to navigate layers of red tape, inconsistent communication, and a lack of accountability. And when problems arise—which they do frequently—there’s no alternative.

It gets worse. The monopoly not only makes business harder but actively drives consumers elsewhere. Anyone who has spent time in Montgomery County knows that serious wine and beer drinkers regularly cross the border into Virginia or D.C. for better selection, better pricing, and better service. That means local businesses lose out on sales because the county insists on controlling the market.

For restaurants, the situation is even more painful. The absurd markups imposed by ABS mean that by the time a bottle of wine reaches a table, it’s significantly more expensive than it would be just a few miles away in another county. How does that make Montgomery County a competitive place for business?

And while small businesses struggle, Montgomery County has its own retail stores—Oak Barrel & Vine—that actively advertise against the very businesses they supply. These government-run stores often undercut private retailers with lower prices, thanks to the county’s control over distribution. Not only are small businesses forced to buy from the county, but they also have to compete against county-run stores that don’t have to go through the same licensing and approval process.

To top it off, Montgomery County is also in charge of enforcing the alcohol laws. That means businesses are forced to buy from the county, compete with county-owned stores, and then deal with county inspectors searching for violations. Enforcement is overwhelmingly skewed against small businesses. County-run stores don’t face the same scrutiny. They can open wherever they want without board approval, and they don’t receive the same inspections that private retailers do. The violation records speak for themselves—small, privately owned stores and restaurants bear the brunt of enforcement, proving once again that Montgomery County is actively working against them.

Montgomery County’s leaders love to talk about supporting small businesses. The best thing they could do? Get out of our way.

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Arash Tafakor is a Montgomery County Alcohol Licensee.