BALTIMORE – A grocery store that had been in business since the 1930s will close at the end of October, laying off more than 80 employees, the Baltimore Sun reports. Santoni’s Supermarket attributes the closure to the city’s bottle tax, which jumped from 2 cents to a nickel this summer.

“Since the beverage tax levy went into effect in July 2010, Santoni's has realized total store sales loss in excess of $4 million or 18 percent,” said Robert Santoni Jr., in a notice about the closing. “But the beverage sales category has experienced sales decreases exceeding 28% during the same time period. Since the tax went into effect, customer traffic count has decreased 20%. The damage done by the beverage tax is irreversible and evidence that Baltimore retailers were right all along"

As chairman of the Maryland Food Dealers Council, Santoni has commented frequently on city policies and taxes. He strongly opposed the City Council’s decision — with the mayor’s support — to raise the bottled beverage tax, saying that many of his customers would simply purchase soft drinks and other bottled drinks for less in neighboring Baltimore County.

Five months after the 2 cent bottle tax went into effect July 2010, Santoni said sales at the Baltimore location dropped 3%. The council approved raising the bottle tax to a nickel this July to raise money for city school renovations.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said that Santoni was wrong about the impact the bottle tax has had on his store’s performance. “Linking its closure to the bottle tax may be a good soundbite but it doesn't square with the facts,” she said. “By the supermarket's own admission, business struggled in recent years which isn't surprising given the depths of the nation's recession and its impacts on local governments and businesses.”