Liquor License

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Thank you to Chad Umble at LNP for another informative article regarding Pennsylvania liquor laws.  This one is concerning legislation pending in the PA House of Representatives that would impact the way that grocery stores and convenience stores could operate.

More specifically, the article highlights a bill currently being considered in the House’s Liquor Control Committee that would create a “customer convenience permit” which would enable those holding the permit to deny patrons the ability to consume alcohol on their premises, and also allow them more flexibility in terms of where they have to physically locate the beer and wine within their store.  It also proposes to remove some of the restrictions on how many ounces of alcohol can be purchased in any given transaction. As you might imagine, despite this being called a “customer convenience permit”, it is really a permit that was crafted solely by and for the grocery stores and convenience stores. As correctly pointed out in the article, Walmart is a major proponent of this bill and likely provided much, if not all, of the input on the bill as it was drafted.
Continue Reading More about the Proposal for New Liquor Permits

Thank you to Chad Umble for another informative article about the changing landscape for PA liquor licenses.  I’m sure there are many who read the article and wonder why the PLCB doesn’t just increase the number of available licenses or create a different kind of license for grocery stores and convenience stores to alleviate the pressure on the restaurants.  The answer to that question is neither simple nor clear, but I can give you some thoughts on why those options are unlikely to occur.

First, simply issuing more licenses would involve a change to the liquor code in Pennsylvania, which would have to pass through the legislature.  It is not as simple as the PLCB simply saying that the quota should be updated or more licenses should be issued.  Any time a bill is introduced regarding changes to the liquor code, it usually generates a lot of attention from many industry groups.  The Brewer’s Association, Restaurant and Lodging Association, Tavern Owners Association, the Malt Beverage Distributors Association, and more recently the Convenience Store Council and the Food Merchants Association, all are trade groups that are impacted by even small changes to the liquor code.  Each of these organizations represents members in various aspects of alcohol sales in the state and any change to the liquor code often impacts each of these groups very differently.  As a result, when liquor bills are advanced in the house or the senate, enormous pressure is placed on our legislators to recognize the interests of these various groups and not change the landscape to hurt any particular industry.  What often happens as a result of this is little or no change. 
Continue Reading More about the Cost of Lancaster County Liquor Licenses