PENNSYLVANIA Discount liquor stores will guard the borders

One of the stores will be in Hermitage.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Although it's illegal, many Pennsylvanians who live near state lines routinely cross the border to buy wine and liquor, then drive back home.
So the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is converting four state liquor stores in strategic locations into "discount outlets." One of the stores will be in Hermitage in Mercer County.
The stores are to sell one-liter bottles instead of the 750-milliliter bottles usually found at state stores. And they promise savings of 20 percent to 60 percent when calculated by the ounce.
Because the state has a monopoly on liquor in Pennsylvania, it is the nation's biggest buyer of wine and spirits. That volume enables it to buy more cheaply, so the discount outlets should be able to sell more cheaply.
"I doubt any retailer in the country could hit these prices," LCB Chairman Jonathan H. Newman said.
But budget-conscious drinkers in the middle of the state shouldn't hold out much hope for savings. The LCB is only opening the discount stores near the state borders.
Locations
Four discount stores are to open by June. Stores in Philadelphia and Easton aim to stop people from driving to New Jersey. A store in Gettysburg is supposed to keep people from driving into Maryland, and a fourth in Hermitage is near the Ohio border. Officials plan to have more discount outlets in other border areas within a year.
Pam Turner, who manages the state store in Philadelphia's Franklin Mills Mall, said she looks forward to her store becoming a discount outlet June 2.
"Instead of flying over to Jersey, we can keep the money right here in Philly where it belongs," Turner said. "A lot of people will come to realize they're not saving anything by going to Jersey, once you pay the toll and the gas you're burning."
Some who drive out of state say they like the idea.
"I'd be real interested to go over there and see what it's like," said Pat Colistra, 56, of Elkins Park, Pa., who was shopping last week at a store in Pennsauken, N.J. "Why did they come to this conclusion now, after all these years?"
Criticism
But no matter how popular discounts may be with customers, the idea has its critics. The state store system was set up in the first place to control liquor consumption, and some say offering discounts defeats that purpose.
State Rep. Paul Clymer, a Bucks County Republican and a teetotaler, said discounts will encourage people to drink more.
"It sends the wrong message, and it's not good public policy," Clymer added.