Summary: Anachronistic Liquor Laws

Pennsylvania has long had anachronistic liquor laws. These laws have been especially striking to this writer having been a lifelong Ohio resident. I moved to Pennsylvania in the summer of 2009. It took some getting used to but finally I got the hang of where and how to buy booze in Pennsylvania. In Ohio, residents are able to buy beer and wine at grocery stores, convenience stores and of course state liquor stores. In fact, many of the state liquor stores are located inside of grocery stores. I remember getting plenty of laughs from my fellow Marines when I told them about the drive-thru liquor stores within inner-city Cleveland for which the city is famous or infamous.
Recently, the Pennsylvania House Liquor Control Committee voted to allow a Keystone State first. Along party-lines, the committed did what residents in survey after survey indicated they wanted; more choice, convenience and flexibility of where they buy alcohol. This July will be my 8th year as a Pennsylvania resident. A few years after I arrived, I noticed a beer section in my neighborhood Wegman’s. I tried to buy two six packs of domestic beer and two six packs of imported beer along with my foil, charcoal and lighter fluid only to learn that the beer had to be
The caveat I found later was that you had to buy a case or a 12 pack. These changes to the state of Pennsylvania alcohol sales have to have the beer distributors concerned. There are a few large distributors, however, many are family-owned businesses and are upset at the new levels of competition that they are increasingly facing. As a result, state legislatures are offering compromises. Distributors will now be allowed to sell beer in quantities other than a case. One of the initiatives passed would allow beer, wine and liquor to be sold in up to twelve thousand retail stores and