Instacart Wine and Spirits Delivery Shut Down in PA by PLCB

Well, it was fun while it lasted, but Instacart has shut down its wine and spirits delivery in Pennsylvania.
 

Instacart started its booze delivery service in March of 2014, and it didn’t seem to be causing any problems as customers received wine and spirit deliveries throughout the city and the suburbs, but in an email last Thursday, Instacart revealed that the service must end thanks to a decision written by the Liquor Control Board’s counsel saying that customers must buy wine and spirits directly from PLCB stores.

The decision affects Instacart in that that the PLCB does not receive the money directly (it takes about an hour to go from Instacart to them) — plus, they’ve argued that Instacart is acting as a “proxy,” so unfortunately, Instacart will go back to just food deliveries from this point on. All good things must come to an end, right?

Photo via Flickr user Craig Hatfield