Penn students may need to increase their budgets for any upcoming parties because the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board just raised liquor prices for the first time in 25 years.
On Monday, 421 popular alcoholic beverages will cost consumers at least $1 more, philly.com reported. The PLCB has not yet released a list of which bottles will increase in price.
Dawn Goldstein, the store manager of the Fresh Grocer next to Penn's campus, said she is unsure which products will be affected, as she has not yet received her weekly Thursday shipment of bottles from the PLCB.
According to Penn Live, the PLCB carries over 10,000 products, meaning more than 95 percent of their products will not be affected. However, many of the 421 are some of the most popular bottles sold.
Like in 17 other states, alcohol in Pennsylvania is sold directly to the public and licensed retailers through state-run stores and distribution centers. According to the PLCB website, it has provided more than $2.66 billion to the Pennsylvania General Fund in the last five years.
PLCB spokesperson Elizabeth Brassell told philly.com that "the rising cost of public pensions, post-employment benefits, and unemployment compensation" were reasons behind the price hike.
Brassell added in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian that the price hike was a business decision intended to maintain fair and competitive prices and optimize revenue, not to decrease alcohol consumption. She also said that Pennsylvania's Fine Wine and Good Spirits stores will continue to put items on sale each month.
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