James Briggs

james.briggs@indystar.com

Marsh's decision to exit the pharmacy business means it will be giving up more than its drugs.

The hard liquor must go, too.

Marsh last week reached a deal to sell its prescription records and drug inventory to CVS Health Corp. Thanks to an obscure Indiana law, Marsh will not be allowed to sell liquor once that transaction is completed.

The reason is in line with Indiana's convoluted alcohol laws. In general, drug stores are allowed to sell liquor in Indiana, while supermarkets can only sell beer and wine. But, of course, there's a loophole. Grocery stores with pharmacies qualify for drug store permits. For now, that includes Marsh.

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Because of the CVS deal, though, Marsh is planning to close all of its pharmacies by Friday. A Marsh spokeswoman confirmed the chain also will cease liquor sales by Friday.

Marsh discounted its liquor by 40 percent to unload inventory. Shoppers who visited Marsh stores to take advantage of the deal reported that some locations had sold out of liquor by Monday evening.

Indianapolis-based Marsh's everything-must-go liquor sale comes on the heels of a bruising General Assembly fight over whether the Ricker's chain — or any other convenience store — can sell cold beer. Indiana's alcohol laws, including the Sunday sales ban, are annual topics of debate for the state legislature.

Yet, so far, the difference between supermarket and drug store permits has not attracted much attention, said Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council.

"None of Indiana's alcoholic beverage laws make sense," Monahan said. "There's been an awful lot of scrutiny and conversations about a variety of issues, but there hasn't been any conversation about this."

Monahan said he can't recall another instance in which a grocery store chain had to quit selling liquor because it decided to close pharmacies.

In addition to closing pharmacies and ending liquor sales, Marsh recently announced another round of closing underperforming stores. Marsh is closing 10 stores by May 14, which will bring its total to 53.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.

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