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2017 beer law impacts York County businesses selling singles, six-packs

YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A restaurant and bar in downtown York will soon be closing its bottle room doors. The owner tells FOX 43 it’s strictly a business decis...

YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- A restaurant and bar in downtown York will soon be closing its bottle room doors.

The owner tells FOX 43 it’s strictly a business decision affected largely by the new liquor laws put in place at the start of the new year. He says the bottle room just couldn't compete with larger distributors who can now sell singles and six-packs.

Shelves of single bottle beer are empty at the Holy Hound Bottle Room in York. The beer is 40 percent off because the shop's closing, and customers like the Earharts say the products are one of a kind.

"A lot of good out of state stuff you can't find anywhere else so. It was a good place to come, and I’ll be sad to see it go,” said Dan Earhart.

Scott Eden is the restaurant and bar's owner. He says he's sad to see his bottle room go, but its what's best for the business - just keep focusing on the taproom.

"I decided it wasn't worth putting the effort forth anymore on that so,” he explained.

He says he spent a lot of time on the inventory and a lot of money.

"A lot of it is because to make it a nice bottle shop, you really have to spend a lot of money on inventory,” added Eden.

50-65 thousand was spent on the inventory according to Eden, purchasing the high-end beers.

"As a business owner, I had to make a decision. Like is this worth my time, my money?”

"It’s a good small business that kind of got hit by the legislation,” added Earhart.

The Beer and Soda Mart in Red Lion welcomes the legislation. The owner says he can add to what he already distributes.

"Now, we can sell everything so those people who wanted the crafts and higher end beers can get a single or smaller package of it and try it. It's been nice for us so far,” said Dan Kury.

Kury says it’s too soon to tell if they've made a profit off of the new laws but sees customers steadily purchasing the singles.

"The biggest thing I've noticed is when somebody buys something, they'll buy one of these or one of those, which kind of ups the sale."

Customers may be sad to see the Holy Hound bottle room go, but the owner says they can still get craft beer until all the inventory is gone.

The owner of Holy Hound says he's not sure what he will do with the empty bottle room - he suggested another dine-in area, a possible brewery, or a lounge. He hopes to finalize his plans for the room by the summer.

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