New Bill May Bring Wine & Spirits to Beer Distributors
Buying alcohol has become a running joke in Pennsylvania. In fact, when introducing an outsider to some of the baffling laws regarding alcohol sales, self-deprecation is pretty much necessary. The recent addition of kiosks to grocery stores that sell wine and liquor is a pathetic example of the drastic measures Pennsylvanians must go through in order to conveniently purchase alcohol. Residents in most other states certainly wouldn’t be as thrilled as we were when we learned that we would finally be able to breathe into a robot that give us a mediocre selection of overpriced wine and shutdown at 9pm, while the grocery store stayed open until 2 in the morning. Phew.
Okay, that’s it for that rant.
All of this frustration may fall by the wayside, however, if new legislation passes. The bill proposes allowing the 1,200 beer distributors across the state to sell wine and liquor through permits that could potentially be purchased. The dreaded PLCB would continue to operate the 625 state-owned liquor stores. In the least surprising news since Milton Street’s embarrassing recent defeat, beer distributors approve of the bill while the liquor store union plans to fight it.
Not everyone is in agreement on the issue, unfortunately. Steve Grubbs of Harrisburg claims that “Most people who drink wine don’t drink beer, and people who drink beer usually don’t drink wine” therefore the system is “best just to be left alone”. I’m sure Tria would renounce this claim. Not to be outdone, Rick Smith submitted his own naïve quote for consideration by saying “Alcohol is an adult item. It shouldn’t be an impulse item; it shouldn’t be on the shelf next to the Tic-Tacs”. I just… excuse me, but after those two zingers, I think I need a drink.
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