HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Liquor licenses in Pennsylvania are going for as much as $307,000 in what state officials are calling "a test" of a recently adopted process to award the permits.
And Sheetz Inc. is prepared to spend nearly $2 million to secure 15 of the licenses for its convenience stores, according to reports.
Sheetz bid $307,500 for a Centre County license and $306,000 each for a pair of licenses in Butler County, according to an Altoona Mirror report.
This past week, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLBC) announced winning bids for 37 liquor licenses auctioned late last month.
“This first auction was intended as somewhat of a test,” PLCB spokesperson Elizabeth Brassell told the newspaper.
The auction, the first of its kind, was made possible through Act 39—the Adult Beverage Convenience and Wine Privatization Act—passed by state lawmakers in June, Brassell said. The act requires the PLCB to auction expired, nonrenewed and revoked licenses. There are about 1,200 licenses that fit the criteria, the report said.
The first auction made 40 licenses available in 21 counties.
The lowest winning bid of $51,500 went to Sheetz for a license in Somerset County, and the largest at $556,000 was awarded to Giant Food Stores for one in Cumberland County. Other winning bidders included Turkey Hill LP, Weis Markets Inc., Giant Eagle Inc. and several smaller retailers.
“We’re pleasantly surprised with the licenses that went for well over half a million dollars,” Brassell said.
Sheetz Inc. bid a total of $1,931,000 for 15 stores in eight counties.
A Sheetz spokesman did not return a phone message seeking information about the bids. However, Bill Mayer, Sheetz Inc.’s consumer insights director, told the newspaper last month that company officials view alcohol sales as a positive addition to their stores.
“We’re here to give the customers what they want, when they want it and how they want it,” Mayer said. “Our goal would be to get (alcohol) into as many stores as we can in Pennsylvania.”
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