New Fine Wine & Good Spirits planned for State College. It will replace another store
Plans are moving forward to open a new state-owned wine and liquor store and close another in State College, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
On Dec. 18, the board approved a lease for a new Fine Wine & Good Spirits store at the former Rite Aid at 1536 N. Atherton St., PLCB press secretary Shawn Kelly said Monday. The new store at that site will eventually replace the existing Fine Wine & Good Spirits at 1682 N. Atherton St. in the Village Square shopping plaza.
The PLCB currently plans to renovate the former Rite Aid, which closed back in April as the bankrupt company’s last remaining State College location. Kelly said the exact timing for work on the new store, its opening date and the closing date of the existing Fine Wine & Good Spirits store along North Atherton Street remains unclear.
“There are some other state approvals that must be granted before work can begin,” Kelly said Monday. “Every project is different, so you never know what you’re going to find when you start getting into the process. We would like to get the new store as quickly as possible, but we want to make sure our customers and the State College area have a new store that meets their needs for years to come.”
Kelly said the new Fine Wine & Good Spirits store should offer a better location for customers along North Atherton Street. The board prioritizes parking availability, traffic access, ease and accessibility within state-owned stores and availability of space for shelving and in-store display units — all of which should improve with the new store.
Kelly said the needs of licensees are also weighed when planning a new store.
“We also take a look at what our licensee community needs, because our stores also serve licensees in the area,” he said. “We need to make sure the store has adequate storage space behind the scenes.”
Plans to move workers at the existing North Atherton Street Fine Wine & Good Spirits store to the new location remain unclear for now. Their retention largely depends on the final layout of the new store, which remains in development.
“Usually, we retain the same staff,” Kelly said. “We’ll see what happens with the new store. We may retain the same staff, or we may end up hiring more folks.”
Centre County is home to seven Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, including four in State College. Stores are available at the following addresses:
- 127 Southridge Plaza in State College
- 230 W. Hamilton Ave. in State College
- 1682 N. Atherton St. in State College
- 323 Benner Pike in State College
- 178 Buckaroo Lane in Bellefonte
- 15 W. Olive St. in Snow Shoe
- 1067 N. Front St. in Philipsburg
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