Does Pennsylvania Sell Alcohol in Grocery Stores?

Yes, Pennsylvania does sell alcohol in grocery stores, but with limits. Licensed supermarkets carry wine, beer, and ready-to-drink canned cocktails, all to-go, in capped quantities per transaction. Bottled liquor is not sold at grocery stores and remains available only at the state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores operated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB).

What a Licensed Grocery Store Carries

Three categories are on offer at a licensed Pennsylvania supermarket:

  • Wine, domestic and imported, sold to-go.
  • Beer, in six-packs, singles, and other configurations.
  • Ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDCs): pre-mixed, spirits-based canned drinks between 0.5% and 12.5% ABV in containers no larger than 16 ounces.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PLCB Summarizes Acts 57, 86 of 2024, Detailing Liquor Law Changes

RTDCs are the newest arrival. They became available in grocery stores on September 16, 2024, after Governor Shapiro signed Act 86 of 2024, the first time spirits-based products could be bought outside the state store system in over 90 years.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PA Grocery Stores and Gas Stations Start Selling RTDC

What you will not find on a grocery shelf is a bottle of vodka, whiskey, rum, or any other spirit. Those sit behind the counter only at the PLCB’s roughly 600 Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations.

How Much You Can Buy in One Transaction

Pennsylvania caps the amount of each category per transaction:

  • Wine: up to 3 liters (four standard 750 mL bottles).
  • Beer: up to 192 fluid ounces (for example, a twelve-pack of 16-ounce cans).
  • RTDCs: up to 192 fluid ounces.

All three limits can be hit in the same purchase, so four bottles of wine, a twelve-pack of beer, and 192 ounces of canned cocktails can go through together.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PLCB Summarizes Acts 57, 86 of 2024, Detailing Liquor Law Changes To buy more than the cap in any category, you need a separate transaction. Some stores will ask you to leave the licensed area and come back in before ringing up the next one.

Hours for Alcohol Sales

Grocery store alcohol sales generally run 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM, Monday through Saturday. Sunday sales require the store to hold a separate Sunday Sales Permit, and with it alcohol sales run from 9:00 AM Sunday to 2:00 AM Monday. Sunday wine to-go ends earlier, at 11:00 PM, at stores holding both a wine expanded permit and a Sunday sales permit.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sunday Sales Information

Canned cocktails have the tightest cutoff. RTDC sales at grocery stores stop at 11:00 PM every day of the week.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Summary of Act 86 of 2024 Easy to miss if you’re on a late shopping run.

Buyers must be at least 21, and stores check ID.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes 18-6308 – Purchase, Consumption, Possession or Transportation of Liquor or Malt or Brewed Beverages

Why Your Local Store Might Not Sell It

Not every Pennsylvania supermarket is licensed. A store needs a Restaurant Liquor License (an R license) plus a Wine Expanded Permit from the PLCB to sell wine to-go. Stores with an Eating Place Malt Beverage License (E license) can sell beer but cannot add wine without converting the license, and that conversion carries a one-time $30,000 fee.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wine Expanded Permits Selling RTDCs requires a separate RTDC permit on top of the existing license.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PA Grocery Stores and Gas Stations Start Selling RTDC

The cost and the operating rules, which require a licensed section set apart from the regular aisles with its own checkout and some seating, mean many stores skip alcohol entirely. Chains like Wegmans, Giant Eagle, and some Weis and Whole Foods locations hold licenses at certain stores, but coverage varies: a store in one town may sell wine and beer while the same chain a few miles away does not. The PLCB’s online store locator covers only its own Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, so the practical check is to call ahead or look for a separate licensed section near the entrance when you walk in.

Stores that sell RTDCs must post signage distinguishing the alcoholic cans from nonalcoholic drinks with similar branding, so the display is usually hard to miss once you’re inside the licensed area.7Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Summary of Act 57 of 2024

Where to Go for What Grocery Stores Don’t Carry

Pennsylvania splits retail alcohol across three types of outlets, and each has a lane:

  • Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores are the only place to buy bottled liquor. They also carry a much deeper wine selection than any grocery store.
  • Beer distributors handle volume. They sell cases and kegs and, after recent changes, six-packs and singles too. Distributors with the right permit also sell RTDCs, with a Sunday cutoff of 9:00 PM rather than 11:00 PM.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Summary of Act 86 of 2024
  • Grocery stores cover everyday convenience: a bottle of wine, a six-pack, or a few cans picked up with the rest of the shopping.

If you’re buying for a party, a beer distributor will handle the quantity. If you need a specific bottle of bourbon or scotch, you’re headed to a state store. For anything else, a licensed supermarket will do the job in one stop.