SEVEN FIELDS — A Giant Eagle grocery store here could be Butler County's first to sell alcohol after a court ruling several months ago loosened the state's stringency on liquor laws.

Pennsylvania is one of the few states in the country that prohibits alcohol sales in grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores.

A court ruling earlier this year, however, allowed the Wegmans grocery store chain to sell beer, liquor and wine in several locations in the state because of on-site cafes or restaurants.

The sale of alcohol is restricted to those cafes and restaurants, which are located inside the shopping centers.

In a letter to Seven Fields officials, an attorney with Giant Eagle said the state Liquor Control Board now has the discretion to approve liquor licenses for "qualified restaurants that are based within grocery stores and that have interior connections or passageways with and to the grocery stores."

The new liquor codes led Giant Eagle to attempt to obtain an "R" license, or restaurant license, which allows the sale of alcohol inside the restaurant portion of the store only.

Giant Eagle plans to purchase its liquor license from an unnamed business in Butler Township. That license would be transferred to the Seven Fields store, pending "approval of the township and subsequently the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board," the letter said.

The proposed restaurant inside the grocery store would seat more than 40 people. A restaurant liquor license would allow the establishment to sell beer, wine and liquor on the premise and allows the purchasing of two six-packs of beer for takeout consumption.

Robert O'Hara, an attorney representing Giant Eagle, contacted Seven Fields and requested a public hearing for July 13. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. and will be held at the borough building.

O'Hara also said the grocery store is sensitive to community input and encouraged residents to attend the upcoming public meeting.

"Giant Eagle is very sensitive to its role in the communities it serves and is very involved in those communities," O'Hara said in the letter.

"Seven Fields borough's approval of an intermunicipal transfer of a restaurant liquor license for Giant Eagle's restaurant will permit the operation of a restaurant in Seven Fields borough that will be a positive attribute to the township." he said.