The Garden State Grocery Liquor Licensing Act establishes a new license that allows retail food stores, defined as establishments where groceries and other foodstuffs constitute at least 65% of total annual sales, to sell alcoholic beverages manufactured in New Jersey for off-premises consumption. The bill permits these stores to display and sell alcoholic beverages in any area of the store where groceries are sold, thereby removing previous restrictions on the sale and display of alcoholic beverages. The act also specifies that municipalities cannot enact ordinances to prohibit the granting of this new restricted supermarket license.

The initial issuance fee for the restricted retail food store license is tiered based on the store's square footage, with fees set at $5,000 for stores under 5,000 square feet, $15,000 for those between 5,000 and 20,000 square feet, and $30,000 for stores over 20,000 square feet. An annual renewal fee of $1,000 is established, which will be equally divided between the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the local municipality. Additionally, the bill states that the population limitation that restricts the number of retail distribution licenses in a municipality will not apply to this new license, allowing for greater flexibility in the issuance of licenses.