Price Increases Start Tomorrow At PA Liquor Stores

Starting Monday, you might pay more for that favorite brand of liquor or variety of wine.

Price hikes on more than 420 popular products go into effect this week at Pennsylvania liquor stores. Ninety-three percent of the price increases are $1 per bottle, and the rest are between $2 and $100 per bottle, said Elizabeth Brassell, Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has not released a list of the specific items slated for a price increase, which is the agency's first in 25 years, according to Philly.com. The increases are necessary due to the rising cost of public pensions, post-employment benefits, and unemployment compensation, that report said.

The decision to increase prices was made earlier in August, after months of negotiating with suppliers in an attempt to get them to decrease the amount the PLCB must pay, according to PennLive.com.

Initially, 496 products were supposed to increase in price but the PLCB was able to successfully negotiate with several dozen suppliers, the PennLive.com report said.

It's not just consumers purchasing directly from the stores who will feel the impacts of the increase. The Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association is against the increase and issued a statement saying local liquor prices are already less competitive than surrounding states.

“A consumer price increase in a system which averages higher prices than surrounding states will likely lead to even more 'border bleed,' an issue that the PLCB said flexible pricing would help them combat,” said John Longstreet, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the amount of the average price increase. Ninety-three percent of the price increases are $1 per bottle, and the rest are between $2 and $100 per bottle, the PLCB has confirmed.

PHOTO: Flickr, Will Keightley