Pennsylvania will take one more step on the road to exiting the Dark Ages when it comes to the sale of alcohol today.
Lawmakers and public officials will gather at an Acme store in Concord Township to toast a new era of wine sales in the state.
Consumers no longer will be held hostage by the state, forced to visit the local state store to buy their favorite wines.
Act 39, passed last summer and signed into law by Gov. Tom Wold, does not abolish the LCB nor eliminate state stores, but it does make several much-needed changes in alcohol sales in Pa.
One of those is allowing some supermarkets, delis and taverns currently selling beer courtesy of their restaurant liquor license to add bottles of wine to their offerings.
Acme first kick off this project a month ago at a store in Granite Run. Today they will take the wraps off their operation at their store in the Concordville Town Center. Consumers can buy four bottles of wine at a time, to go with those two six-packs of beer.
Of course, you still have to visit a separate part of the store, and pay for it there, not with the rest of your groceries, but it's still an important step forward in consumer convenience.
So far state officials say permits have been approved for more than 200 Pennsylvania grocery stores.
Recently Wawa got the green light to add beer sales to their store on Naamans Creek Road in Concord, the first store in the local iconic convenience store chain to do so.
Then Sheetz, the convenience king farther west in the state, unveiled their first store to offer wine sales.
Sip, sip, hooray!
We'll be out there in Concord to raise a glass to a new era in Pennsylvania.
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