Wegmans supermarket in Downingtown, PA is not selling beer. Technically it's the Market Cafe inside Wegmans that is selling the beer. That little restaurant twist is what allows Wegamans Food Mar
kets Inc to sell beer in many of its Pennsylvania stores, oops Market Cafes. Simply put you can't grab the dog food, oatmeal, Oreos and a bomber of Bear Republic Racer 5 and hit the regular checkout lane. The beer sales are limited to the cafe area. Likewise you can't purchase your kibble, cereal and cookies inside the cafe. So that there are no illegal operations a dividing beer no beer line is marked with waist high posts and stop sign reminders. Wegmans' license allows for the consumption of beer (wine and hard alcohol) on premise, making the experience of grabbing Chinese spare ribs, spring rolls and fried rice for lunch much more interesting. Keep in mind there are limits to your beer purchase. The two six pack rule or equivalent applies, you have to bag your own and expect to show your ID. Nothing overly shocking.
Whatever rules keeps the PLCB happy and allow me to put groceries and a few beers in the trunk for the ride home is a good thing. Is it the perfect situation? No, but it leans on the side of convenience. The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania doesn't like it for the obvious reasons. Here's some of the legal speak from MBDA counsel, Robert Hoffman, Esq., in response to Wegmans' entitlement to a licence to sell alcohol.ARGUMENT
I. THE PLCB’S AWARD OF AN “R” LICENSE TO WEGMANS’ BETHLEHEM
STORE VIOLATES THE STATUTORY RULES ESTABLISHING
THE VENUES AT WHICH BEER CAN AND CANNOT BE SOLD IN PENNSYLVANIA
MBDA’s central argument is that the real world seller of beer here is the Wegmans’
supermarket, operating under its “economy of scope” marketing strategy; the notion that the Market
Café is the seller is a legal fiction to which no one should give credence. Wegmans, in a “press
release” emailed to its customers months before the hearings, accurately described its contemplated
sale of beer as “shopping at Wegmans” (see Exh. P-4 (185a)), and the hearing record strongly
supported that conclusion.1 The PLCB, by treating that legal fiction as fact, has authorized what
Pennsylvania law does not permit: the sale of beer at and by a supermarket.
The PLCB’s decision to approve the interconnection has two articulated bases: (1) the
asserted lengthy history of issuing licenses in “similar” circumstances; and (2) the PLCB’s
conclusion that was “no reason to not approve” (Opinion at 117) the interior connections between
the Market Café and the Supermarket. The first conclusion is revisionist history and the second
reflects fundamental flaws in the manner in which the PLCB approaches its decision-making on this
issue. At the same time, the PLCB decision and Respondents’ Briefs ignore the central issue,
described above, that MBDA has raised; debunk arguments MBDA has not made; and misapply
statutory construction principles
I. THE PLCB’S AWARD OF AN “R” LICENSE TO WEGMANS’ BETHLEHEM
STORE VIOLATES THE STATUTORY RULES ESTABLISHING
THE VENUES AT WHICH BEER CAN AND CANNOT BE SOLD IN PENNSYLVANIA
MBDA’s central argument is that the real world seller of beer here is the Wegmans’
supermarket, operating under its “economy of scope” marketing strategy; the notion that the Market
Café is the seller is a legal fiction to which no one should give credence. Wegmans, in a “press
release” emailed to its customers months before the hearings, accurately described its contemplated
sale of beer as “shopping at Wegmans” (see Exh. P-4 (185a)), and the hearing record strongly
supported that conclusion.1 The PLCB, by treating that legal fiction as fact, has authorized what
Pennsylvania law does not permit: the sale of beer at and by a supermarket.
The PLCB’s decision to approve the interconnection has two articulated bases: (1) the
asserted lengthy history of issuing licenses in “similar” circumstances; and (2) the PLCB’s
conclusion that was “no reason to not approve” (Opinion at 117) the interior connections between
the Market Café and the Supermarket. The first conclusion is revisionist history and the second
reflects fundamental flaws in the manner in which the PLCB approaches its decision-making on this
issue. At the same time, the PLCB decision and Respondents’ Briefs ignore the central issue,
described above, that MBDA has raised; debunk arguments MBDA has not made; and misapply
statutory construction principles
For the full document go here.
Locally Wegmans is currently pursing a license for the new Collegeville store and has a license pending for a Malvern location scheduled to open next year.
I stopped by the Downingtown store Thursday after work just to check out the new layout and pick up a few bottles. Walking in the you are immediately confronted with four sided
beer displays filled with sixes and bombers. The aisle to the left is a wall of import beer options. The opposite side is dedicated to American crafts. Surprisingly the macros are tucked back in the corner of the aisle almost hidden. Craft beer is strongly positioned in the cafe. Most people I encountered were shocked to see the beer setup. All seemed positive and impressed about what was available. My overall all experience was a good one. The prices presented no sticker shock. I think the Racer 5 bomber was $4.99 and the Troegenator bomber $3.99. The only negative experience came at the time of check out when the Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale wasn't in the system and thus not available for sale. Oh well no Rocket for me. I chalked it up to a small first day glitch.
beer displays filled with sixes and bombers. The aisle to the left is a wall of import beer options. The opposite side is dedicated to American crafts. Surprisingly the macros are tucked back in the corner of the aisle almost hidden. Craft beer is strongly positioned in the cafe. Most people I encountered were shocked to see the beer setup. All seemed positive and impressed about what was available. My overall all experience was a good one. The prices presented no sticker shock. I think the Racer 5 bomber was $4.99 and the Troegenator bomber $3.99. The only negative experience came at the time of check out when the Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale wasn't in the system and thus not available for sale. Oh well no Rocket for me. I chalked it up to a small first day glitch.Wegmans is a bit off my regular path, but if I'm headed to Victory or driving that end of route 30 I'll make sure to stop in. It will be interesting to see if they get more unique beer choices. If that happens it could become a true beer destination.
2 comments:
Hi, I am a recent (5 years) immigrant from West Germany, and I am still shocked about these weird rules people are abiding here to. You can't buy beer in a store? This is really unthinkable, but of course I know by now that yes, really, this is how Pennsylvania works.
In every german village or small town you will find not only beer stores with specialties, but also the regular grocer with a decent (german *and* bavarian!!) selection of good beers.
Luckily we have a Wegman's in 45 min driving distance, so we can go there once a week to shop. In my my opinion it was a smart move to offer micros of good quality plus some interesting import choices, but the really good stuff is of course not found there.
I assume this has to do with the fact that their personel (who ever is responsible to decide what beers to buy and sell there) is not really a beer afficionado.
Well, it could have been worse - it could have been another BMC dump, which would be useless for connaisseurs.
Twice a year we are driving 2 hours to Shangy's in Emmaus to pick up some cases (another idiot rule, cases only in PA!).
Meanwhile we have found some good beer stores in our area who actually follow beer on websites like beeradvocate, and who are stocking the top varieties. Last week we found single bottles of the Aventinus Weizenbock (a case at Shangy's for around 80 $), hooray!
While this Wegman's thing is definately an improvement, it is not perfect (yet?). Just like their cheese department, where too-old cheese is laid out for presentation (the sales people have no clue about the product they are selling!), the beer sales personal is clueless as well. I wonder why they don't care about qualified personel. Too expensive? Or what is the problem here?
Wegmans overall seems to have a good thing going with the beer. I am sure that operations and employee knowledge will improve with time. If they are serious about the beer sales and want to provide better customer service they will make sure their people learn a bit more about the products they are selling.
Post a Comment