23 more Fine Wine & Good Spirits to offer in-store access across Philadelphia area

Pennsylvania will open nearly two dozen of its state-owned liquor and wine stores Friday as it continues to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions.

Wine and Spirits store in Philadelphia

A pedestrian walks past a boarded up Wine and Spirits store in Philadelphia, Friday, March 20, 2020. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

Starting Friday, nearly 550 Fine Wine & Good Spirit stores across Pennsylvania will allow limited in-store access — including 23 new locations in Philadelphia and surrounding suburban counties.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced the move Thursday morning.

Philadelphia will open 20 new stores under the expansion. Delaware and Montgomery counties will open one and two new stores, respectively.

Locations added to the roster of operating state-owned wine and liquor stores will abide by social distancing guidance set forth by the Wolf administration amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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On March 17, Pennsylvania shut down all of its roughly 600 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores as it sought to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Mitigation efforts — including limiting the number of customers in a store at one time and implementing one-way traffic patterns — will be in place as stores resume in-store access.

Customers and employees will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing, guided by signage throughout the stores. The first hour each store is open will also be reserved for customers at high risk for COVID-19, including those ages 65 and up.

Before opening to the public, each store was “professionally sanitized,” according to the PLCB, and outfitted with Plexiglas at registers to provide a barrier between employees and customers at checkout.

Curbside pickup will remain available to the best of each store’s ability, the PLCB said. The state liquor control board will also continue accepting online orders.

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Stores open for business, and their operating hours, can be found here.

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