ALTOONA, Pa. -- After fighting to open the door to cold beer and wine sales in convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Sheetz Inc. intends to kick it down by adding alcohol beverages to all its c-stores or as many as possible, according to a report in the Central Penn Business Journal.
Sheetz celebrated the addition of wine to its store in Shippensburg, Pa., with a champagne toast earlier this month.
The celebration was made possible by recent changes to the Pennsylvania liquor code.
Act 39, known as the "ABC and Wine Privatization Act," was approved in June and went into effect in August. It changed regulations on direct wine shipping, all-day liquor licenses for casinos, as well as expanding wine-to-go sales in groceries, convenience stores, restaurants and hotels. Customers will be able to purchase three liters, or four bottles of wine, in any one transaction at a c-store that holds an expanded restaurant permit.
The change came after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf urged the Liquor Control Board to "free the six-pack" by awarding liquor licenses to nine retail sites that sell gasoline, including other Sheetz c-stores.
Now, chain executives have set their sights on adding beer and wine to more of its stores in the state.
By the end of the year, Sheetz hopes to sell takeout wine in its seven Pennsylvania stores that already sell beer, Gary Zimmerman, vice president and general counsel for the Altoona, Pa.-based c-store chain, told the newspaper.
Sheetz, which has more than 250 locations in Pennsylvania, is also analyzing every market for opportunities to sell beer and wine, Zimmerman said. That includes participation in state auctions of expired restaurant liquor licenses.
Limited availability of licenses in some areas is a challenge, driving up costs as high as $300,000 in some cases.
The state liquor law created more opportunities for businesses to participate in alcohol sales in Pennsylvania, but it didn't create new licenses, the newspaper reported.
The state is hoping to expand the supply by auctioning off about 1,200 licenses that have expired since 2000.
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