Some PA state liquor stores now open Sundays

Website of KYW radio, Philadelphia ^ | 2/9/03 | Tony Romeo

[foreverfree]

Sunday Liquor Sales

by KYW's Tony Romeo

For the first time since before prohibition, some Pennsylvania state stores will stay open on Sundays to sell wine and spirits prompting some prohibition era style protests as well.

61 state stores will be open from noon till five Sundays starting today. About half of those stores are in Philadelphia and the four suburban counties. Brian Smith is Executive Director of Pennsylvanians Concerned About Alcohol Problems which is part of a coalition that aims to stop Sunday alcohol sales in Pennsylvania. He contends there's no public demand for it. "The alcohol industry and the newspapers who are interested in advertising are pushing this agenda for the alcohol industry. It is not the public."

Opponents of Sunday sales plan to stage protests in four locations across the state today including Center City Philadelphia. The Sunday sales were authorized by the state legislature as a two-year pilot program.

For a list of stores open on Sunday click here: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

[foreverfree]

Guess PA is trying to compete with MD's privately run liquor stores (DE, which also had private liquor stores, prohibits their operation on Sundays).

foreverfree

[The Great RJ]

State run liquor stores in Iowa used to have a poster boasting that Iowa was 46th in liquor consumption, but 17th in revenue from liquor taxes and sales. Seemed strange that the state wanted both to discourage people from drinking, but maximize the amount of money they made from liquor.

[SamAdams76]

I don't understand these silly "blue laws" concerning liquor stores at all. I mean, all the bars are open and so are the restaurants with liquor licenses. So is virtually every retail establishment in the United States. In that context, the closing of liquor stores makes no sense whatsoever.

Here in Massachusetts, liquor stores are closed on Sundays by law. However, a few years ago, an exemption was made for towns within 10 miles of the NH border to compensate for the fact that NH liquor stores are open and many Massachusetts residents would go to the NH stores.

Now the towns south of the towns that are near the NH border are suffering because residents of those towns travel to the towns just south of the NH border on Sundays! It's just crazy!

[csvset]

Virginia is considering expanding state run liquor store hours.

{snip} Sunday liquor sales could be coming to an ABC store near you. A House committee endorsed Thursday a bill that would allow state-operated Alcoholic Beverage Control stores to open on Sundays in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Northern Virginia.

``We're trying to see whether or not this makes money,'' said Del. David B. Albo, R-Fairfax, author of HB1653.{snip}

[Movemout]

You beat me to it. It is also kind of strange that Warner shortened the hours that ABC stores are open to save money. ABC may be one of the few state entities that actually turn a profit for the state. Ooops, I forgot-- Warner is a Dimocrap. Nuff said.

[Calvin Locke]

...silly "blue laws"

Was watching a Charlie Chan film a couple of years ago.

"Charlie" came out on "stage" before the movie started, and asked the PA audience to ask their legislators to allow movies on Sunday.

[foreverfree]

Virginia is considering expanding state run liquor store hours.

Didn't the Old Dominion allow private liquor stores until about 10 or 15 years ago?

foreverfree

[csvset]

I know that supermarkets can sell beer and wine, not sure about liquor. I don't believe VA have private liquor stores, if they did, Va. Beach would have a bunch of them.