Pennsylvania Wine Kiosk Experiment an Epic Fail

After a year of ups and downs, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has decided to end its controversial yearlong wine kiosk experiment, leaving Pennsylvania wine and liquor drinkers back in the dark ages.

While the PLCB had high hopes for bringing convenience to their customers via the kiosks, the pilot program didn’t take off as planned and was inundated with problems from the get go.

First up, machine malfunctions plagued the machines, forcing an ill-timed shutdown of all of the kiosks in the middle of the holiday season.

Once the machines were back up and running, some consumers complained the automated wine-buying process — which included a driver’s license swipe and a mini-breath analysis test — was cumbersome, while others felt the vending-style wine purchases lacked personal service. Then there was that pesky $1 convenience fee to contend with.

With some kiosks only dispensing a dismal one or two bottles of wine a week, in April the PLCB announced hard liquor would be available in some kiosks. Surely that would boost sales — or so they thought.

But more trouble arose when the Wegman’s grocery store chain bailed out of the program, putting the kibosh on more than 30 percent of the agency’s operating machines. Wegman’s cited limited wine selections and lack of personal service as the reason for the removal of the kiosks.

The program was thought to have landed a major coupe when 24 Pennsylvania Walmart stores were set to get wine kiosks later this year, but the plan never came to fruition.

But the final straw came via a money dispute between the state and Simple Brands, the company responsible for developing and operating the kiosks. The PLCB contends Simple Brands owes the state nearly $1.2 million, money that will likely never be recouped.

In the early phases of the pilot program, the wine kiosks were strategically placed in Pennsylvania grocery stores that included Giant Eagle, Acme, Genuardi’s, Giant Food and Shop ‘N Save. But in the aftermath of the wine kiosk fiasco, expect to see a gaping hole in their place in the near future.

Meanwhile, critics of the wine kiosk pilot program want to know when the state is planning to get out of the dark ages when it comes to liquor sales. Pennsylvania’s state-controlled liquor system is one of the most archaic in the country.

While Gov. Tom Corbett has been vocal about his desire to see the system privatized, the PLCB is considering opening more state-run wine and spirits stores on Sundays and allowing direct shipping to a buyer’s home instead of requiring pick up at a state store.

Victoria Leigh Miller is a freelanced writer and Pennsylvania resident.

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