Restaurants in Pennsylvania can return to operating at 50% capacity starting Sept. 21, Gov. Tom Wolf announced today.

While Fine Wine and Good Spirits stores were shut down during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said it had record net income for Fiscal Year 2019-2020.

Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers made 1,709 checks on liquor establishments and issued 64 warnings over the weekend. That compares to last weekend when 1,524 checks were made and 44 warnings issued.

With confusion lingering over just what is and what isn’t allowed since the state issued stronger guidelines for COVID-19 mitigation efforts at bars and restaurants, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board today issued clarifying guidance.

Most of Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores are set to reopen on Friday in the remaining counties transitioning to the state’s yellow phase.

As counties move en-masse out of the most restrictive part of the state’s three-phase plan to reopen non-life-sustaining businesses, the state’s liquor authority said it will expedite applications for temporary liquor license extensions so restaurants can serve alcohol in outdoor seating areas without facing legal scrutiny.

The state’s top liquor authority said Thursday it will re-open 60 additional Fine Wine and Good Spirits stores on May 29, making for a total of 349 on-site locations that will have resumed modified in-person operations in 56 yellow-phase counties by the end of the week. That includes one in Adams County, 10 in Cumberland, 14 in

Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-Washington, introduced House Bill 2547, which would end the state’s control of wine and spirit sales in Pennsylvania. The bill, he said, is similar to House Bill 466 of 2015, which was vetoed by the governor.

An Allentown man, who asked to not be identified, admitted he broke down and crossed state lines when he ran out of his favorite liquor. With Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor stores closed under orders from the governor, what else could he do?

Nearly a week after the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced that it was going to resume online sales at www.finewineandgoodspirits.com, many consumers are wondering why they still can’t buy liquor on the website.