Wine Kiosk Program Ends in Contract Dispute
The deadline has passed without a resolution in a contract dispute between the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the vendor for its wine kiosk program. It means that the experiment with the wine vending machines at grocery stores has come to an end.
LCB spokeswoman Stacey Witalec says the kiosks are no longer open and they’re working with the vendor, Simple Brands LLC, on a removal schedule. There were 21 of the kiosks still operating after Wegmans pulled out of the program earlier this year.
The LCB says Simple Brands should reimburse over one million dollars in expenses incurred with the kiosk program. The company disputed the amount, saying some of the expenditures were unnecessary. The LCB exercised a 45 day cure period in the contract and that period came to an end Monday night without a resolution. The machines did not open on Tuesday morning.
The LCB plans to hold Simple Brands accountable, according to Witalec.
The stores that housed the kiosks have the option of applying for a license that would allow them to sell limited amounts of beer and wine. The Wegmans store on the Carlisle Pike in Mechanicsburg has such a license. Witalec says over 80 grocery stores have already applied for similar licenses. She says interested stores have to go through the typical licensure process.
Witalec says they’ve also been discussion with a number of retailers who are interested in having one of their brick and mortar stores connected or within their established locations. She says these are known as one stop locations and there are currently 19 in the Commonwealth. She says it’s another model that is successful and they look forward to utilizing as well.
The experiment with the kiosks began last year and had come in for recent criticism from the Auditor General and others for not meeting its goal of customer convenience. Meanwhile, the state House Majority Leader launched a campaign this summer to privatize liquor sales in Pennsylvania.
