PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from Feb. 2022.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) announced on Tuesday that bids for 21 expired restaurant licenses are now being accepted.
This is the 11th auction since Act 39 became effective, according to the PLCB.
Signed by Gov. Wolf in June 2016 and effective that August, Act 39 changed many of the PLCB’s responsibilities, including licensing, product procurement, and marketing activities. Some of the biggest changes included hotel and restaurant license holders having to apply for permits to sell limited quantities of wine to go, and Pennsylvania residents being able to receive up to 36 cases per year of wine (for personal use) shipped by a PLCB-licensed wine producer.
To read more about the changes Act 39 enacted, click here.
The auction includes one license in each of the following counties: Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Lebanon, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Schuylkill, Wayne, and York.
Bids for these licenses are due by noon on Oct. 31, the release states, and they will be sealed, a process that has so far resulted in winning bids on 292 licenses offered in previous auctions.
The minimum bid for each available license is $25,000 and each bid made must have a bid surety of $5,000 or 5% of the total bid amount, whichever is higher, PLCB officials said in a statement.
These sealed bids will be opened on Nov. 2, and winners will be announced shortly after. Winners of each license will get the right to apply for the license within six months of the auction award. Payment must be received within two weeks of the award, or the second-highest bidder will have the opportunity to apply for the license, according to the PLCB.
To submit a bid, click here. Scroll down to "Related Solicitation Files,” and click the links to view.
Any questions regarding this invitation must be submitted to RA-LBLicenseAuction@pa.gov by noon on Sept. 23. Answers to these questions will be posted on the Department of General Services e-marketplace website by 3 p.m. on Sept. 28.