Pennsylvania has always had trouble handling liquor. Sure, Ben Franklin liked to get soused debating the Constitution, but the true early American squabbles over liquor didn't come until 1794.
That's when George Washington sent 12,000 troops to western Pennsylvania to put down a group of angry farmers who rebelled against paying extra taxes to ship their whiskey, proving the federal system worked.
Fortunately, that was the commonwealth's last violent bloodletting over the availability of a fifth. Not that the disputes over alcohol ended. On the contrary, they were just getting underway.
Pennsylvania's state-owned system of Wine and Spirit Shoppes, the only places residents may legally purchase wine or distilled alcohol, has existed since the repeal of prohibition in 1933. And through its history it has been viewed, depending on one's point of view, as either an agency best ignored or a draconian government entity hell-bent on stigmatizing a perfectly normal commodity.
Whereas many states allowed consumers to buy booze over the counter at grocery stores or even gas stations, until 1969, the only way to buy liquor in Pennsylvania was to approach a nondescript state store counter with a request. Merchandise went unseen until purchase.
Customer service was of minimal concern, to say the least.
Over the years, several politicians, including former governor and current Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, tried to privatize one of the few American socialist programs to outlast the Cold War, but to no avail.
As a result, the perception that Pennsylvanians' access to liquor was controlled by a stingy and puritanical group remained largely intact.
But the commonwealth's relationship with the sauce might be changing, thanks to a series of initiatives launched in the past year by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB), which has authority over the distribution of liquor and spirits. Beer sales do not fall under its jurisdiction.
These new moves include allowing 10 percent of stores to open on Sundays, selling liquor accessories such as corkscrews at Wine and Spirits Shoppes, deeply discounting liquor prices, launching the first-ever LCB advertising campaign, placing a new emphasis on premium wines and, perhaps most notably, opening the first state store within a grocery store at the end of 2003.
"The approach we've taken is we have to run it as a business, and that means trying to satisfy our customer needs," said LCB spokesman Bill Epstein.
Already, these changes are having an impact at the cash register. On the whole, sales in 2003 were up 7.7 percent over 2002, bringing total sales to $1.3 billion, $12 million of which came on Sundays alone.
At the two liquor stores in State College, sales were up a combined $1,082,582, with 318,632 more bottles leaving the store in hands of customers in 2003.
Still, not everyone is happy.
Some civic organizations have criticized the LCB, saying that by loosening restrictions on buying alcohol, the state is endangering lives. Also, the Independent State Store Union, which represents more than 600 Wine and Spirit Shoppe managers, has called the moves a covert attempt to privatize the system over time.
Despite such protests, the LCB shows no signs of reversing its decision to make its stores more customer-friendly, and if anything, it will forge ahead with plans to modernize.
For years, the LCB and its policies have been contemptuous subjects for Pennsylvania.
Arguments have been made for abolishing the organization from numerous angles: the system should be sold off to a private corporation; the system should be sold off to individual vendors who are granted licenses (as in New Jersey); the system should control only liquor, allowing wine to be regulated like beer (similar to the method used by Virginia); wine and spirits should be sold in supermarkets like any other commodity, something Pennsylvanians can now see only while on vacation.
And of course, because this is an intoxicating substance and not a bar of soap, there is a wide range of moral arguments about how readily available liquor should or should not be.
Still, the LCB has survived, if for no other reason than any attempts to privatize/modernize/destroy it have resulted in bureaucratic nightmares for those who have tried. Also, there is the system's profitability -- to the tune of $433 million last year alone.
So in February, the LCB started trying to make itself a little more popular.
That's when, after extensive LCB lobbying, the legislature changed state laws allowing 10 percent, or 64 of 635 stores, to open on Sundays, the nation's second-biggest retail day of the week. Gov. Ed Rendell was quick to sign off on the law.
Now, those stores selected to have Sunday hours open their doors between noon and 5 p.m. Additionally, the law says the remaining state stores will be able to maintain Sunday hours after a two-year delay, which ends next February.
So far, the response has been positive.
"Every customer that comes in here loves it," said Al Pettina, manager of the Wine and Spirits Shoppe at 1690 N. Atherton St. "You don't get people coming in here saying you shouldn't be open or anything like that ... [and] it didn't take away from any other day."
Besides having Sunday hours, Pettina's store is one of 31 designated as a "superstore," meaning it receives special discounts and a wider selection of high-end wines. Besides the discounts, these superstores now offer occasional wine tastings, during which vendors set up displays in stores.
Last October, Eberle Winery of California visited the Atherton Street store.
Gary Eberle, the winery's owner and a former Penn State football player, ran the event himself. The tasting was the most popular to date, according to Randy Lose, assistant manager in charge of the premium wine collection.
The main reason state stores can now offer discounts is that, after years of paying standard retail prices for wines and spirits, the LCB has finally decided to throw its weight around. Pennsylvania, the largest buyer of spirits in the country and largest buyer of California wines in the world, has started purchasing goods at cheaper, bulk rates.
For example, a bottle of White Hall Lane Cabernet 2000, which has received high ratings, sells for $19.99 at superstores, instead of the standard retail price of $40.00.
Beyond the superstores, the LCB has set up six so-called outlet stores around the state, strategically placed near the borders to combat "border-bleeding," in which Pennsylvanians skip across state lines in search of discounts.
While technically illegal, such border jumping is hard to enforce, so the LCB is hoping to use these outlet stores, in conjunction with the superstores, as economic incentives to keep liquor dollars here.
Still, the most visible change in the ongoing LCB makeover is the arrival of liquor at the supermarket.
On December 23, a Wine and Spirit Shoppe opened inside a Clemens Family market in Blue Bell, which is located in Montgomery County. To be sure, this is still not like the arrangement in many states, where liquor is available among other merchandise.
Rather, a separate state store has been built within the supermarket, and only state store clerks are authorized to sell alcohol.
Still, this marks a departure for the LCB as it begins to explore options beyond the traditional stand-alone stores that have handled its business for seven decades.
For Mark Clemens, one of the owners of the Clemens chain, the choice to allow the LCB to set up shop within his store was a no-brainer.
"It's excellent; they have the opportunity of a one-stop-shop," Clemens said. "You don't have to stop at two different places or have to leave the building."
This year, the LCB intends to open between five and seven such supermarket stores.
Behind it all is the LCB's first advertising campaign, a $1.5 million effort supporting print ads, billboards and mass e-mailings.
Sum it all up, and you have a well-managed business capable of competing with anything in the private sector. At least that's the way the LCB sees it.
But some have asked the question: Is this increase in business a good thing?
For those who view liquor as a special commodity in need of special regulations, these moves toward modernization are nothing short of a reckless money grab that could result in ruined lives.
Ed Cloonan, the president of the Independent State Store Union (ISSU), which represents more than 600 state store managers (though some managers, like Pettina, do not belong) has been unrelenting in his criticism of the LCB. While he has argued that the move into grocery stores will lead to lower wages for state store employees, his biggest charge is that the LCB, in conjunction with state legislators, is attempting de-facto privatization.
"I think the state store system works because [alcohol] is a special commodity," Cloonan said. "If you treat it like any other commodity, there is no philosophical need to keep the state store system ... it's the most clever strategy by any governor to get rid of the state store system."
However, Cloonan also makes a moral argument about the availability of alcohol, noting that every state that sells liquor in supermarkets also sells beer in supermarkets.
"Since World War II, no generation has seen an increase in liquor consumption respective to beer or wine before this one, and I think there will be consequences down the road because of that," Cloonan said.
His concerns have been echoed by the Pennsylvanians Concerned About Alcohol Problems, which has partnered with his organization in condemning the LCB's actions.
In the end, it boils down to a simple question: Is the role of the LCB to make money for the state or to regulate the sale of alcohol?
Right now, it's trying to do both.
"There is a bit of a conflict with our mission, which isn't to sell alcohol but to control the sale of alcohol; supposedly we're not here just to make money," said Scott Bussard, an ISSU member and assistant manager of the Wine and Spirits Shoppe at 230 W. Hamilton Ave.
"I think we can make the customer happy while still being able to card people and do our jobs of controlling sales. There is a balance to be struck."
