JACKSON, Miss. — Business owner Brandi Carter depends on reliable wine shipments for her livelihood.
Carter operates Levure Bottle Shop in Jackson, Mississippi, where she specializes in selling natural wines distributed through the state’s alcohol control system to retail stores, restaurants and bars. However, warehouse complications have created significant shipping delays, forcing Carter and numerous other business owners to watch their stock levels drop while sales decline as they await new deliveries.
The business owner, who also manages beverage operations for a Jackson restaurant, reports experiencing these setbacks since February and feels powerless as customer traffic decreases.
“I’ve just reached acceptance that this is our new normal, and it’s awful,” Carter said Wednesday.
Mississippi operates under a unique system where the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control department — part of the Mississippi Department of Revenue — handles wine and liquor distribution to retail businesses. This differs from most other states where private companies manage alcohol distribution, Carter explained.
Statistics from the Mississippi Department of Revenue show that during the week of April 12, more than 172,000 cases awaited delivery, with businesses experiencing an average 17-day wait for their orders.
These figures represent an improvement from the week of March 1, when the bottleneck reached its worst point this year. At that time, over 220,000 cases were pending delivery with an average completion time of 25 days.
By comparison, the week of January 11 saw just over 51,000 cases pending with only a three-day wait period, according to department records.
Carter reports the current backlog has created wait times of four to five weeks, compared to the previous timeframe of several days to two weeks before problems began.
The distribution problems originated in January when the state’s four-decade-old warehouse transitioned from an outdated conveyor belt system to a pallet-based operation, according to Mississippi Department of Revenue officials. Technical difficulties with the new warehouse management system caused the delays, the department stated.
“The computer program that they implemented for the warehouse wasn’t working effectively with the ordering side,” Carter said. “So the first big chunk was the biggest problem, because things were being marked as shipped, but they weren’t shipped.”
Department officials say the technical problems have been fixed and the warehouse is now running at maximum capacity, with backlogged orders being processed as retail demand increases.
“While capacity at the existing facility has been a challenge for well over five years, there is not an alcohol shortage,” the department said. “As retail ordering stabilizes, we anticipate shipments returning to normal volume within the coming weeks.”
State lawmakers considered legislation that would have temporarily permitted out-of-state distributors to sell and deliver alcohol directly to retailers. The proposed law included a two-year sunset clause, but failed to gain approval before the legislative session concluded.
A replacement warehouse scheduled for completion by year’s end will have the capacity to store and distribute more than double the current facility’s volume, revenue department officials announced.
Josh Sorrell, who owns Spillway Wine and Spirits in Brandon, says his daily orders have been reduced from 600 cases to just 100 cases. He estimates that 30% to 40% of his regular daily orders remain unavailable.
Sorrell thinks reinstalling the conveyor belt system would solve the issue and has requested that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declare a state of emergency.
Should the delays persist, Sorrell worries his business will struggle during the busy end-of-year period when he generates much of his annual revenue.
“As it gets busier, we’re gonna crumble,” he said. “I mean, it’s going to be really hard at 100 cases a day to stock up for a full October, November, December.”
Customers are now visiting multiple stores searching for specific products and often leave empty-handed, Sorrell noted.
“It’s frustrating to lose people at the door who are looking for a specific product that I can’t even get from the state,” he said.
Customer Lauren Roberts experienced this firsthand Thursday when she visited Sorrell’s store seeking Soda Jerk’s orange cream shots, but found them sold out, just like at her usual supermarket. She settled for a different beverage for an upcoming family gathering.
“We’re having a little get-together this weekend because it’s my daughter’s prom and her boyfriend’s family’s coming,” Roberts said. “So everybody has their drink of choice, but me.”
