GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. (WXYZ) – Woods Wholesale Wine in Grosse Pointe Woods is closed for business after sending beer to an in-state address.
William Maatouk, the owner of the second generation, said the employee executed the order by mistake. They believe this was part of a biting operation by the Liquor Control Committee.
Maatouk described the punishment as injustice and horrible.
“We do not know why they attack us so hard because of a simple violation,” Maatouk said. “We made a mistake when an employee shipped it. We would not endanger our operations for three bottles of beer.”
He said the punishment forced them to close for seven days or appeal, and if they lost their appeal, the liquor license would be terminated. They decided to close on Monday.
It’s against the law in Michigan to ship beer to a state residence. The store has a retail site and online process that ships to homes all over the world.
“There is one license that covers beer and wine because of lobbyists and other things that happened in the past. You can ship wine,” said Matouk’s lawyer, Brian O’Keefe. “But you can’t charge beer. That’s a trap.”
In 2015 Woods Wholesale Wine closed for illegally shipping alcohol.
7 Action News contacted the Michigan Liquor Control Commision and declined to comment.
