For almost 20 years, customers have been coming into Knightly Spirits to buy liquor and other alcohol.

“All right — you are all set,” said the store clerk to a customer.

Down an aisle, Chris and Bryan Knightly restack a small display of Tito's Vodka. The pair own five stores around the Orlando area with their father, sister and uncle.  

“I really think we are a product of what Gov. (Rick) Scott envisioned,” Chris Knightly said. His parents moved to Florida when they were in primary school to start the business in 1998.

“My brother, sister and I are all products of Florida public schools, we all graduated from Florida public university, and because of the job creation from our stores, we stayed in Florida, all of our money stays in local Florida communities,” laughs Chris. “Even our accountants are Floridians.”

But when the Florida House narrowly passed SB 106, a bill that would allow liquor to be sold in grocery stores, these owners say it hurt.

“Yeah, I was sitting in the gallery. It's a gut punch. It really feels that there are extenuating factors and external factors that are playing into this,” Chris said.

Wa-Mart and Target lobbyists have been pushing for the bill to pass in Florida for years now. The Knightlys worry, if signed into law, it will destroy their hard-fought small business.

“I don’t think it will be strictly overnight, but it will be phased out in the next eight to 10 years. The independent market will either be gone, or be next to nothing,” Bryan said.

The Floridians for Fair Business Practices, who is in favor of the bill, disagrees.

“In states with similar populations and regulatory structures, independent liquor stores are still the majority holders of liquor licenses,” said Michael Williams with the FFBP. “Twenty-nine other states and D.C. also have a similar law.”  

Next door to Knightly Spirits in Ocoee is a Publix. Shoppers had mixed emotions about the bill.  

“I guess it’s a little bit more convenient for them,” Jason Keaton said.

“I have no opinion on it,” Bill Pietarila said.

“I don’t think it really matters much. It’s a few feet one way or the other. What’s the difference?” David Rushing said.

But to this small business, it is a very big difference.

“Every state representative runs on the platform of small business, small business. How many jobs they can create. And then you see, when they have their chance to show that, they don’t. They turn their back on small businesses,” said Chris. “This is 100 percent of our livelihoods for ourselves, our family members and our employees.”

The legislature is expected to send the bill to Governor Scott’s office in the next few days.

To email a comment to the Governor's Office, click here.

Anyone wanting the governor to veto the bill can also contact him here or those who want him to sign the bill can contact him here.