Word on the street is that the computers that drive the special liquor order (SLO) system at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) have been down for days. This means that restaurants all over the state are unable to order the non-"regular” wines they rely on as the bread and butter of their daily beverage programs.
My heart goes out to all of the sommeliers and beverage managers that are scrambling around their local state stores looking for wine to fill the gaps.
But my mischievous side is smiling with glee at this massive system failure in terms of the repercussions it could have for the PLCB. Maybe this is just the fuel needed to fire the revolution that will be necessary to bring about the long overdue dismantling of Pennsylvania’s state controlled system. A long shot, I know, but one can always hope.
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Revolution Will Be Televised
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4 comments:
Yo David! I'm back from Austria and I met your friend Michael and he was great! Very interesting guy to talk to and amazing that he owns two restaurants and a school. I heard much about the PA liquor board and roared with laughter over his account of the situation, especially the days of the Chairman!!!!
Good luck in getting rid of the liquor control board!
What I find the most amazing about the PLCB is that restaurant owners need to go to the State Store and pick up their own wine, along with a check for immediate payment. The wine is stored unrefrigerated at the State Store.
Welcome back, Nancy. Can't wait to read your reports from the trip.
I've long held off on ranting about the smoke and mirrors of the now defunct/fading Chairman's Selection Program. Suffice it to say that things continue to go from bad to worse. The battle will be a long one....
Tom,
Add to your list the fact that restaurateurs pay very near to full retail price in PA. And we wonder why wine pricing is so high in Philly?
Also, wine in PA is stored unrefrigerated at the state stores and at the PLCB warehouses. Careful sommeliers can work around that by placing special orders for wines handled by distributors that are known to take care of their wine AND by then picking up their orders as quickly as possible once the distributor has delivered their order to the state store of choice.
Of course, when the SLO system goes down, conscientious buyers all over PA are SOL.
Yes, I too was appalled that the wine is not refrigerated or stored correctly. Sigh.
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