Penn State students may find it easier to purchase alcohol after this year, as the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has decided to allow supermarkets to contain wine and spirits shops.

On Wednesday, the PLCB selected Clemens Market in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, as the first supermarket to house a liquor store. It will offer hard liquor and wine, but no beer, and should open in November or December, said PLCB spokeswoman Molly McGowan.

McGowan could not comment on whether a similar store would be opened in the State College area. However, the PLCB hopes to open at least six or seven more liquor stores in supermarkets across the state, she said.

The plan to incorporate the state-controlled liquor stores into supermarkets was undertaken because the PLCB and Gov. Ed Rendell wanted to make shopping easier for state residents, said Kate Philips, Rendell's spokeswoman.

"Gov. Rendell has believed that buying everything you need in one place is something that Pennsylvanians value," Philips said.

Likewise, some Penn State students express satisfaction at the idea of making just one stop for groceries and liquor.

"One of the greatest ideas other states have is getting everything you need in one store for a party," Mike Cocco (senior-economics) said.

Giant Food Stores does not yet expect to house new liquor stores, said Denny Hopkins, vice president of advertising and public relations for the supermarket chain.

"They (the PLCB) have approached us, but we told them we're not interested at this time. We are only interested observers at this point," Hopkins said.

The PLCB has stipulated the new liquor stores have between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet of space within the supermarket, McGowan said.

"The new liquor stores will be set up in the markets in much the same way as a bank branch is," she said.

State-controlled liquor stores sell $300 million worth of alcohol each year, said Albert Pettina, general manager of Social Security State Liquor, 1688 N. Atherton St.

As for the sale of alcohol in convenience stores, Pettina said the state is not likely to permit it in the near future.

All the employees and cash registers at the grocery store-based liquor stores will be state-owned and operated, McGowan said.

"The state earns $120 million in revenue from the sale of alcohol. Right now it's cost effective for the state to keep control," Pettina said.