by KYW's David Madden
A hearing is scheduled next week in Warrington (Bucks County), Pa., where town supervisors are being asked to approve a bid by the Wegmans supermarket chain to sell beer.
The plan may not have much of a problem next week, but it faces a staunch fight from beer distributors at the state level.
It’s a two-step process. The first would be to get approval from the locales in question. Wegmans has six stores from Allentown west. Then, the grocery chain would go to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for a license.
And that’s where the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania would step in. Executive secretary Mary Lou Hogan:
"Typically, the Wegman's is 90,000 square feet. They probably carry 50-60,000 items at least."
By contrast, she says, beer distributors are restricted to selling beer, soda, and snacks -- and only one license in the state.
Wegmans attorney RJ O’Hara says the locations where they’re seeking liquor licenses also have restaurants. He says the store in Warrington can seat more than 200 people:
"It would, initially, sell only beer -- for consumption both on the premises and to go."
The LCB has taken no action on the pending Wegmans applications.
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