Local liquor store permanently closes its doors

This past weekend, Penn students bemoaned the loss of a fallen hero: a local liquor store.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits — located at 41st and Market streets — permanently shut its doors on Saturday. The business was one of 601 stores operated by the state, which extend throughout Pennsylvania and can be found in each of the state’s major cities, including Pittsburgh, Reading and Scranton.

The store posted a sign on their front door that read, “This store will close permanently on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 9:00 p.m.”

Store manager and Fine Wine & Good Spirits representatives were not able to be reached for comment.

The sudden closing took many Penn students by surprise.

“It’s kind of weird that they closed like that. They were doing well,” College senior Charles Dennis said.

“I was really surprised. On the day of the last operation, I was there two hours before [they closed],” Wharton and Engineering senior Justin Warner said. When he was inside of the store, Warner said he did not notice any signs indicating that the store would be closing. He first heard of the news from a friend’s post on Facebook.

In February of 2007, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and community leaders were discussing potential plans to move the liquor store to 42nd and Walnut streets, but they did not follow through with the plans.

As news of the store’s closing spread throughout campus, students thought about how they would now procure alcohol. Other liquor stores in the area include ones located at 19th and Chestnut streets, 24th and South streets and 49th St. and Baltimore Avenue.

“We have to go out of the way to get alcohol now. It’s kind of an inconvenience,” Dennis said.

“That was my sole supplier. I took it for granted. It’s going to make BYOs harder to accomplish,” College senior Ned Shell said, who first read about the closing in a post on Under the Button.

While students feel inconvenienced by the closing of Fine Wine & Good Spirits, not all are not worried about obtaining alcohol for parties and BYOs in the future.

“People are still going to get their alcohol,” Dennis said.

However, students may now have to travel farther to these locations, as opposed to walking to the now-closed store.

“People don’t really venture out that far. It’s out of people’s comfort zone,” Dennis said.

Other students are coming up with more creative ways of obtaining alcohol.

A Wharton junior, who wished to remain anonymous because she is under the legal drinking age, will depend on her housemate who lives in New Jersey and makes regular liquor runs to her home state because it is cheaper.

“I’m annoyed, but it’ll be okay,” she said. “We’re going to start stocking up.”

Staff writer Sunny Shen contributed reporting to this article.

This story has been updated from a previous version to clarify that Pennsylvania liquor stores are operated by the state.

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