The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), a government agency that manages both retail and wholesale wine and spirits operations in the state, announced that a 4% price increase would go into effect on 3,554 of its most popular wine and spirits products on January 15.

 

The notice, which was sent via email to alcohol suppliers on Thursday, January 5, cited a 40-year high inflation rate as the cause of the price hikes. This short notice left businesses scrambling with just 10 days to either adjust their own prices or absorb the additional costs. 

 

Some business owners took to social media to express their frustrations, including Maggie’s Farm Rum Distillery. By law, distilleries with on-site liquor licenses are required to price their products at least one cent higher than PLCB prices.  “We haven't raised prices on retail bottles since we started production almost TEN years ago and had no plans to this year either,” Maggie’s Farm Rum said in an Instagram Post. “Inflation hit us as bad as anyone. But we make up differences in costs with increased volume. This is what's fair to your customer when your customer support grows. But, alas. Just giving everyone a heads-up.” With the new 4% increase and the PLCB’s non-compete law, the distillery will need to increase most of its bottle prices by $1-$2.

 

Bar and restaurant owners aren’t happy either, with Teddy Sourias, owner of Craft Concepts group, telling the Inquirer, “We obviously are not happy with the increase and it came out of nowhere with short notice.” He said it would be hard to justify increasing menu prices. 

 

The PLCB stated in their email that despite the pandemic and inflation rising over the years, they have resisted making an across-the-board price hike since 2019.