Weis launches wine-to-go sales in Pennsylvania

Weis Markets has kicked off a pilot program to sell wine-to-go from its in-store cafe in Mechanicsburg, Pa. where 900 varieties of beer are currently sold for on- and off-premise consumption, a Weis spokesman told SN.

The retailer plans to sell wine-to-go from 49 of its cafes in the state by Thanksgiving of this year. The cafes will ultimately sell up to 400 varieties of wine.

Weis’ program comes one month after Giant Eagle and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board implemented a pilot program for wine-to-go sales. Wegmans also began selling wine in the state as part of a pilot earlier this month.

The tests come after Act 39 — which allows Pennsylvania grocers to apply to sell wine; wineries to ship direct to consumers; and more gas stations to sell six packs of beer — went into effect last month.

“We’ve sold beer in our Pennsylvania cafes for more than ten years and throughout this time, we’ve been repeatedly asked one question: when are you going to sell wine? Now, we have an answer,” said Kurt Schertle, Weis Markets COO, in a statement.

“Starting this week, we are selling wine in our Mechanicsburg café and are looking to quickly roll the program out to all of our licensed cafes in Pennsylvania over the coming months. We want to offer our customers improved convenience and a more complete shopping experience; selling wine in our cafes allows us to do both.”