Group tries to block 6-packs at Sheetz
HARRISBURG — In a case that has implications for beer drinkers across Pennsylvania, lawyers for beverage distributors urged the state Supreme Court to bar takeout sales of six-packs unless a retailer allows the beer to be consumed on the premises.
The focus of Wednesday's hearing was a decision by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to grant a license that allows beer to be sold at a Sheetz convenience store in Altoona, but it reflected a larger debate over how beer should be sold in Pennsylvania in a changing marketplace.
The Pennsylvania Malt Beverage Distributors Association, which won a round against Sheetz in Commonwealth Court earlier this year, is separately challenging the PLCB's approval of licenses that will allow Wegmans' supermarket chain to sell beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks at cafes in six of its Pennsylvania stores.
"The (liquor board) authorized venues to sell beer that the Legislature never intended," Robert Hoffman, the attorney for the distributors' group, argued at Wednesday's hearing on the Sheetz case.
Currently, about 500 delicatessens and similar establishments hold beer-only licenses like the one granted to Sheetz, allowing them to sell six-packs and serve beer. Takeout customers can buy the equivalent of two six-packs of 16-ounce cans at the businesses.
Beer-buyers wanting cases or kegs must turn to one of the state's 1,300 beer distributors, where they also usually get better prices.
Sheetz's Altoona store was based on a "new concept" that emphasizes food sales, said Stanley Wolowski, a lawyer for Ohio Springs, a Sheetz subsidiary. While connected to the convenience store, the eating area features seating for 62 patrons and 4,000 square feet of floor space, he said.
Sheetz currently sells only takeout beer in Altoona. The distributors' association contends the store should also have to serve beer to restaurant patrons for consumption on the premises.
Liquor board attorney Rodrigo Diaz said liquor licensees are granted the privilege to sell alcoholic beverages, but not required to sell them.
