SEVEN FIELDS — Anyone anxious to buy a six-pack of beer in the restaurant section of the Giant Eagle grocery store here will have to wait another three to four months, pending state approval of the proposal.

R.J. O'Hara, an attorney for Giant Eagle, said the state's Liquor Control Board will wait that long to either approve or deny the intermunicipal transfer of a liquor license from a restaurant in Butler Township to the Seven Field's grocery store.

If approved, the Seven Fields Giant Eagle would be the first in Butler County to sell beer for on-premise or takeout consumption. The beer would be sold in a restaurant in the grocery store.

Giant Eagle is attempting to obtain an "R" license, or restaurant license, which allows the sale of alcohol only in the restaurant portion of the store. The takeout beer would be in large coolers similar to those in grocery or convenience stores.

Customers would be limited to two six-packs for takeout. O'Hara said the establishment would only sell beer to begin with, but it could sell wine later. He said sales of hard liquor aren't being considered at the store.

O'Hara said company officials would like to sell beer inside the restaurant by the end of this year but admitted that timeline is optimistic. He also said he anticipates representatives from the Malt Beverage Distributors Association will file a petition of intervention, which will ask the Liquor Control Board to deny the license transfer.

If that's the case, O'Hara said, there will be a public hearing held most likely in Pittsburgh, after which the Liquor Control Board will hand down its ruling. Despite the potential roadblock, O'Hara said he "expects the liquor license transfer to be approved despite a potential intervention."

O'Hara also said if the liquor license transfer is approved, the company would make minor modifications to the restaurant inside the Giant Eagle to comply with Liquor Control Board requirements, after which the store would be ready to sell beer inside the restaurant.