September 15, 2015
User @RadnorTownship/Twitter
Some grocery stores can now sell wine in Pennsylvania.
A Republican state senator wants to make it easier for smaller grocery stores to sell beer, potentially adding another way for private businesses to get around Pennsylvania's complex liquor regulations.
As the Delaware County Times reported Monday, State Senator David Argall (R-29) proposed removing the requirement that grocery stores must create a separate 400-square-foot restaurant on their property in order to sell beer.
The proposal would apply to grocery stores that are between 8,000 and 55,000 square feet in size, because "they just don't have that kind of extra space," Argall told the paper.
Related story: Delco Wawa one step closer to selling beer
However, the restaurant industry and beer distribution industry as likely to oppose the proposal, fearing more competition in the booze market.
Over 260 grocery and convenience stores have started selling beer since 2001 through the restaurant loophole. There's even a Wawa in Delaware County that hopes to get permission to sell beer.
To summarize all the players involved in Pennsylvania's unique array of liquor laws:
•only the state can sell wine or liquor, although Republicans would like to privatize this industry
•only beer distributors can sell beer by the case
•only restaurants can sell beer in single bottles or six-packs, but a grocery store can get around that rule by opening a restaurant within its walls.
Any change to liquor laws, therefore, has the potential to make it easier for some small businesses to sell alcohol while hurting other groups which previously enjoyed limited competition.
