Fresh Grocer to start selling beer

The Fresh Grocer will start selling beer before January 2015, an employee confirmed Tuesday.

An orange notice announcing the store’s application to sell alcohol was posted by the entrance at 40th and Walnut streets earlier this week. Beer should be in stock within the next few weeks, according to an employee who had spoken with supervisor Samira Syed.

It is unlikely that beer will be sold 24 hours a day, during all of the store’s operating hours, due to state restrictions.

Pennsylvania is one of 18 states that monopolize alcoholic beverage wholesale and retail. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that grocery stores with established restaurant operations inside them can sell beer — up to two six-packs for take-out at a time. The Fresh Grocer’s new license is likely affiliated with its internal cafe.

General Manager Ed Wescott was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday evening.

Selling beer is not the only recent change to come to the Fresh Grocer. The store joined the Wakefern Food Cooperative, whose members own and operate ShopRite stores, last fall.

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