If the operator of the East Bend Liquor Store on U.S. Highway 20 has his way, he could soon be selling beer by both the keg and the glass, in addition to the bottle and can. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission should grant his request.

Bit by bit, the commission is breaking down the wall between liquor sales and the rest of the retail world. In 2013, for example, OLCC gave liquor store operators permission to sell beer and wine on their premises.

It was a change in the old rule that said that state liquor stores could sell only hard spirits, while all other retail outlets could sell only malt beverages and wine, and now, cider. It was, the agency said, one of several changes aimed at updating the agency and its policies.

It was, we suspect, also a way to help fend off those who would privatize liquor sales in Oregon.

Washington residents had done just that in 2012, and there was continued talk about following suit here.

The state began the effort to allow more flexibility in earnest in 2005, when it ran a test program to allow supermarkets to have liquor stores within them. The stores still had to be entirely separated from the surrounding grocery market by “defined boundaries,” a rule that still applies. The program became permanent.

Mark Merrick, who operates the East Bend Liquor Store, has asked the OLCC to change another rule, one that prevents a retail sales agent (liquor store operator) from also having a limited sales license.

The latter would let him sell wine, malt beverages and cider for consumption on site, though in a facility that is separate from the liquor store. In the world of state regulation, that change may seem huge. It shouldn’t, and the request should be approved.