SHIPPENBURG, Pa. -- Sheetz's drive to sell beer in its convenience stores in Pennsylvania will come before the state's highest court.
Specifically, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review a challenge by the Malt Beverage Distributors Association and others to a previous court ruling that allowed Sheetz to sell beer in a store in Shippensburg, Pa.
At issue, according to court documents accessed by CSP Daily News, is whether "a single store [can] sell both gasoline and beer without violating the liquor code."
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board gave Sheetz permission in 2014 to sell alcohol in the Shippensburg store. That consent has since been challenged in multiple legal actions.
Semantical questions such as "What is a location?" and "What is a place or property?" are expected to be addressed in the review to resolve the intent of a liquor code that prevents establishments that sell alcohol from also selling any kind of fuel.
Although the Shippensburg Sheetz store looks like one building, it is actually two properties, according to a PennLive report. A convenience store that sells gasoline is separated by a partition from the adjoining restaurant. Because only the restaurant has the liquor license, lower-court judges found that Sheetz is not violating the no-alcohol-with-gas rule.
It is not known when the state Supreme Court will hear the case.
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