Hurricanes and booze go together like gin and vermouth - but not in post-hurricane Pennsylvania, where Sandy's hangover prompted the state Liquor Control Board to shut down every one of its more than 600 Wine & Spirits stores.
From Philly to Pittsburgh, Erie to Scranton, not a single bottle of hooch could be purchased Tuesday from the government monopoly that controls the sale of wine and liquor in Pennsylvania and forbids its residents from bringing it home from neighboring states.
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"All of our stores are closed," said LCB spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman.
Weather conditions weren't hazardous in the Philadelphia area Tuesday, but the LCB said its network of stores, which closed at 3 p.m. Monday, would remain closed so officials could "assess the damage from Hurricane Sandy." The stores were expected to reopen Wednesday with regular hours, Kriedeman said.
Fortunately, for those seeking to pass the time Tuesday with some single-malt scotch or a glass of cabernet sauvignon, liquor stores in New Jersey and Delaware were waiting just over the state border.
"Tri-State Liquors, open all day," was how an employee at the Claymont, Del., store answered the phone Tuesday morning.
Just up Naamans Road in Delaware, Total Wine & More opened at noon. Both stores are seconds from the Pennsylvania border.
"They're closing all of the stores?" asked Total Wine & More spokesman Ed Cooper, when told of Pennsylvania's shutdown.
"We're open for convenience," said Gary Brady, manager of Canal's Discount Liquor Mart in Pennsauken, Camden County.
Transporting out-of-state alcohol into Pennsylvania is illegal, but people do it every day, seeking cheaper deals and a wider selection. The state loses tax revenue as a result. Gov. Corbett and three prior governors have sought to bust the state's liquor monopoly, to no avail.
