Driven to drink by market forces.

• Position: Competition between Frugal MacDoogal's Beverage Warehouse and Mecklenburg ABC stores

Driven to drink by market forces

A battle of the booze has broken out along the state line south of Charlotte between free enterprise and the Mecklenburg County ABC board.

On Nov. 29, Frugal MacDoogal's Beverage Warehouse opened on the first Interstate 77 exit south of North Carolina. Operated by Charles Sonnenberg, who recently moved to South Carolina from Nashville, Tenn., the store has 22,000 square feet and about 1,200 brands. That compares with about 1,700 square feet and fewer than 600 brands in an average Tar Heel ABC store.

But price is the key comparison. A 1.75-liter bottle of Johnny Walker Red goes for $32.75 at Mecklenburg ABC stores. Frugal MacDoogal's shoppers pay only $21.99.

"Our markup in North Carolina is 75 percent, which is set by the General Assembly," says Bill Hester, assistant general manager of Mecklenburg's board. Liquor in North Carolina is sold in stores owned by local boards and controlled by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. In South Carolina, stores are state-licensed but privately owned. Sonnenberg, whose Nashville liquor store is the largest in Tennessee, says he gets thousands of customers a week at his shop.

Faced with...