Four decades in the making, a task force takes steps to rid Philadelphia of nuisance stop-and-go stores

[FakeNoose]

Philadelphia Inquirer link: https://www.inquirer.com/business/pennsylvania-stop-and-go-task-force-regulation-20240724.html

Almost a century ago, Pennsylvania’s liquor code was created by a teetotaler governor distraught enough about the repeal of Prohibition that he decided to make drinking as difficult as possible for residents.

For the last four decades, Philadelphia residents have vigorously complained that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) hasn’t made drinking more difficult at so-called stop-and-go stores throughout the city.

And for four hours over two days last week, the bipartisan Pennsylvania Stop-and-Go Legislative Task Force heard it all once again — residents’ grievances and store owners’ complaints of harassment — as they attempt to find a solution that will eradicate nuisance stop-and-gos in the city without unnecessarily burdening law-abiding businesses.

“I invite everyone on this panel to come and join me in my backyard, because the shenanigans go on all day long and you can have a bird’s-eye view sitting in my yard seeing people at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 4 a.m.,” said Stephanie Ridgeway, president of Lower North Philadelphia CDC. “This is impacting a community that is attempting to rejuvenate itself.”

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Also from the same article:

What is a stop-and-go?
The task force, chaired by State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, a Philadelphia Democrat, is responsible for legally defining stop-and-gos and coming up with a suitable special license and effective enforcement to use only in Philadelphia.

The state liquor code prohibits private ownership of liquor stores but allows entrepreneurs to run restaurants and eating establishments that can sell alcohol to customers as they eat. In the late 1980s, entrepreneurs started purchasing old, unused liquor licenses that allowed them to sell food. According to the Pennsylvania State Police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE), some stop-and-gos run afoul of the liquor codes because they do not provide sufficient food and eating space, tables and chairs, or utensils, and may sell liquor to go, in violation of the law.

Instead they specialize in selling small quantities of hard alcohol and beer to a transient population, many with addiction issues. Buying single servings of alcoholic beverages is easy and cheap, and customers tend to linger outside the stores, neighbors complain, drinking and creating chaos throughout the day and night.

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In western PA we have Sheets and GetGo that are mostly open 24 hours for gas, cigarettes and carry out food, etc. Many have beer and wine, but most customers drove their cars and on their way somewhere else. They aren't likely to loiter outside the store.

It is different in Philly, where some customers behave like they're at an all-night bar. Public drunkenness and other rowdy behavior outside the store (but on the store premises) isn't being controlled by the store employees and that's where the problems are.