ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nelson Habecker has been in the liquor store business for years.

“Going on 41 now,” said Habecker, owner of East Avenue Liquor Store in Rochester. “When we first came here we were a much smaller store. We only had a few of the brown whiskeys, were the popular seller and as far as wine went, you had chablis, burgundy, Rhine wines and chardonnay.”

But as wine’s popularity began to grow, so did the selection in his store, with wine now being a big part of his business.

“We’re allowed to sell two products in a wine and spirits shop, wine as being one of the products and spirits being the other one,” he said.

Which is why he’s worried about the future. New York lawmakers considered a proposal that would allow wine to be sold in grocery stores, however they will not vote on the bill this year.

“To put wine in grocery stores would actually take away 50% of our business,” said Habecker.

And for East Avenue Liquor with a Wegmans just down the street, the potential competition that would come from wine in grocery stores is so close they can see it.

In response to the proposal, Wegmans issued a statement that they are in favor of providing convenience for New York consumers, creating jobs and doing everything possible to support the New York wine industry and they are proud to support legislation that would give New York consumers access to wine in grocery stores like 40 other states already do.

“If Wegmans across the street is going to gross their wine at whatever price it is, I have to match them,” Habecker said. “If your price isn’t right at your shop, then they’re just going to shop some place else. So you’re actually going to be forcing them right out of business.”

And after four decades in the business, it’s a fear he worries may become reality in the future.

“I think many of our stores are going to go out of business,” he said. “They can’t survive on one of the two products, you can’t do it on the spirits section alone.

“Where we can sell a bottle of wine for $10 and make a dollar, we have to put $30 into a bottle of spirits to make a dollar.”

That could create a domino effect that could bring more problems than positives.

“It’s a much bigger effect than just wine going into grocery stores,” Habecker said. “You have the wholesaler who’s going to be affected. You have the small wineries that are going to be affected. You have the manufacturers that are going to be affected.”