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There’s a lot you can order online for home delivery, from food to paper goods and medicines, but in Philly liquor is no longer on the list. In response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board shut down its Fine Wine & Good Spirits website. And starting Tuesday, March 17, at 9 p.m., all state stores in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania — the only stores allowed to sell spirits — are closed indefinitely.
Online orders that were already submitted before the Fine Wine & Good Spirits site was turned off March 16 at 5 p.m. will still be delivered, but expect delays. That’s on the consumer side; orders for stores that haven’t left the fulfillment center yet will be cancelled.
The state-run chain also sells wine, but that you can get elsewhere in Philly, thanks to changes to liquor laws in recent years. Several supermarkets stock wine and a small number of bars and restaurants sell bottles too.
You can’t buy more than three liters of wine at once, so keep that in mind if you’re rushing out to stock up.
Beer is, of course, much easier to find in Philly. The limit there is 192 ounces in one transaction (around 16 beers).
As for when state stores will reopen, here’s the message on the PLCB website: “We will remain in contact with the Department of Health and the Governor’s Office to ensure we are ready to act quickly to resume operations when it is deemed safe to do so.”
