Slowly but surely, Pennsylvania is crawling out of the Dark Ages in terms of how it handles the sale of alcohol.
State stores are no longer the cold, uninviting retail establishments they once were, when you literally had to walk up to the counter and tell the clerk what it is you wanted.
Looking for advice? You were in the wrong place. “What do I look like, the phone book,” is a reply you might have gotten.
Times have changed. State stores are much more inviting places. You can now browse the aisles. Clerks are much more knowledgeable, the state is developing specialty wine stores, hours have been expanded, including Sunday hours. The state has even dabbled with putting stores in some supermarkets.
Now there’s a new wrinkle. The state is mulling the idea of free-standing kiosks that would sell wine. Think of it as an ATM machine that would dispense bottles of your favorite wine. The state is considering as many as 100, mostly in supermarkets.
Again, not a bad idea.
I have a better one. Push the plunger. Yep, blow up the LCB and this archaic system of selling alcohol. I have said it before, and I haven’t changed my mind.
I’m tired of going one place for beer, somewhere else if I only want a six-pack, and still another for wine or liquor.
I want to be able to grab a six-pack while I run into the Wawa. I want to be able to buy a case of beer, along with a bottle of wine, in the supermarket.
I know the LCB means revenue for the state. It also means jobs, which I no doubt will be reminded of by the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
It’s time. Go ahead. Push the plunger. Blow up this anachronism and turn the whole process over to private industry.
Now there’s an idea worthy of a toast. I’ll drink to that.
State stores are no longer the cold, uninviting retail establishments they once were, when you literally had to walk up to the counter and tell the clerk what it is you wanted.
Looking for advice? You were in the wrong place. “What do I look like, the phone book,” is a reply you might have gotten.
Times have changed. State stores are much more inviting places. You can now browse the aisles. Clerks are much more knowledgeable, the state is developing specialty wine stores, hours have been expanded, including Sunday hours. The state has even dabbled with putting stores in some supermarkets.
Now there’s a new wrinkle. The state is mulling the idea of free-standing kiosks that would sell wine. Think of it as an ATM machine that would dispense bottles of your favorite wine. The state is considering as many as 100, mostly in supermarkets.
Again, not a bad idea.
I have a better one. Push the plunger. Yep, blow up the LCB and this archaic system of selling alcohol. I have said it before, and I haven’t changed my mind.
I’m tired of going one place for beer, somewhere else if I only want a six-pack, and still another for wine or liquor.
I want to be able to grab a six-pack while I run into the Wawa. I want to be able to buy a case of beer, along with a bottle of wine, in the supermarket.
I know the LCB means revenue for the state. It also means jobs, which I no doubt will be reminded of by the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
It’s time. Go ahead. Push the plunger. Blow up this anachronism and turn the whole process over to private industry.
Now there’s an idea worthy of a toast. I’ll drink to that.
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