Back in March, when the news broke that the PLCB would be launching wine boutiques, local restaurant owners weren’t exactly psyched by the news. The plan is to open the boutiques in gourmet food shops — one in a partnership with Jose Garces — and the root of the beef is fear that restaurants are going to have to compete with the agency that regulates them.
As it turns out, two months hasn’t been enough time to soften the blow, as the Philadelphia Business Journal reports that restaurant owners are still upset and concerned about the intentions of the LCB. The Board passes it off as a thing to embrace, telling the Business Journal that “the gourmet food shops will help the board meet its responsibility and, ultimately, generate revenue that benefits its shareholders — the taxpayers of Pennsylvania,” but it’s not going to do much to shut down the persistent criticism the the LCB is a monopoly.
Meanwhile, the Garces wine and cheese shop is still set for go (a spokeperson “acknowledged Garces’ interest but said he is declining further comment), but does this mean that he’ll be blackballed from the Magicians’ Alliance among other Philly restaurateurs?
Eateries sour on LCB wine plan [Philadelphia Business Journal]
