Sheetz has gained approval from Patton Township to sell beer and wine at another of its local stores.
The convenience store chain has requested a restaurant liquor license transfer to its location at 1781 N. Atherton St. in Patton Township. The liquor license Sheetz is seeking to transfer is currently held by the owner of the former Westside Stadium Grill on West College Avenue in Ferguson Township.
Patton Township’s Board of Supervisors approved the transfer after a public hearing during the board’s meeting this week. An inter-municipal transfer requires approval from the receiving municipality before applying to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for approval.
In Centre County, Sheetz currently sells alcohol at two other Patton Township stores — 101 Valley Vista Drive and 223 Colonnade Boulevard — as well as at 129 S. Pugh St. in State College and at 106 Savannah Lane, off Route 45 in Centre Hall. Sheetz also plans to add beer and wine after it rebuilds its location at 765 Benner Pike, at the intersection with Shiloh Road in College Township.
Mark Kozar was at the Patton Township meeting to represent Sheetz. He said the company has numerous measures in place to ensure safe alcohol sales and meets all requirements put in place by the PLCB. Beer would be held in a walk-in beer cooler, and all premise beer consumption will be limited to the sit-down restaurant area.
Beer sales will be limited from 7 a.m. to 1:45 a.m., Monday-Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 1:45 a.m. on Sundays. Sheetz also has a 100-percent identification policy where it cannot make an alcohol sale without a valid driver’s license.
There were some concerns from community members that there is not a need to allow another Sheetz to sell alcohol. Board members agreed that the law allows the store to have the liquor license.
“We have already approved two Sheetz in our township to have a liquor license, so I really don’t see a reason why a third one shouldn’t be permitted to also have a liquor license. We are not establishing a precedent. The precedent has already been set,” said board member Dan Trevino.
“I see the worry that you already have a couple of sources there, so why do you need another one, but that’s not really our business, because that is a commercial competitive business,” said board chair Elliot Abrams.
The PLCB recently denied an application for a liquor license transfer to Sheetz’s Wingate location, after an objection by Bald Eagle Area School District on behalf of the nearby Wingate Elementary and Bald Eagle Area High schools. Sheetz has appealed the denial in Centre County Court and a decision has not yet been rendered, according to court documents.
