The Wine & Spirits shop on Leithsville Road in Lower Saucon Township was closed at 4 p.m. Sunday, when normally it should have been open. Customers took notice of the store’s unexpected closure on Saturday, when it should have been open following the Christmas holiday. Signs hung in its windows cited an “emergency” and said it is closed “until further notice.”
UPDATE: As of Wednesday, Dec. 30 it was reported that the Wine & Spirits Shoppe in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center had reopened for business. State officials did not respond to a request from Saucon Source for information about its closure.
Shortly after Christmas, during one of the busiest times of year for liquor sales, the Wine & Spirits Shoppe in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center in Lower Saucon Township closed unexpectedly.
A man who approached the store Sunday around 4 p.m., only to discover that it was closed, commented that the store not being open “sucks.”
The reason for the closure remain unclear, however signs hung in its windows say it is closed “due to (an) emergency” and “until further notice.”
One of the signs instructs customers to visit FineWineAndGoodSpirits.com “for the latest updates,” however the website does not appear to list any news about the closure. There isn’t any information about it listed among the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s recent news releases, either.
The Lower Saucon Township state store (Store 4807) is located at 1848 Leithsville Road, Hellertown. Its regular hours are Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The PLCB notes on the wine and spirits stores’ website that “all stores will close by 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31, reopening Saturday, Jan. 2, at their normal times.” Customers are instructed to “call your local store for hours.”
The regular hours for the Hellertown wine & spirits store are posted on its front door. Most of Pennsylvania’s more than 600 wine & spirits shops currently have hours that have been modified because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other nearby wine & spirits shops are located on E. Fourth Street in Bethlehem, on Freemansburg Avenue in the Madison Farms shopping center in Bethlehem Township and on Center Valley Parkway in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Center Valley.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of customers allowed in liquor stores at one time is limited based on store size. The Hellertown store’s limit is eight.
The reduced capacity limits are being enforced by PLCB employees, as was apparent Dec. 23 at the Promenade Shops store, where a line of customers waited outside to enter.
Wearing face masks is also required of customers, who are urged to stay at least six feet apart from each other and not to handle products they don’t intend to buy.
The first hour of each business day is reserved for customers at high risk for COVID-19, and for customers who do not wish to enter state stores, curbside pickup is available.
Saucon Source has contacted the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, which operates the state’s network of liquor stores, to request more information about the reason behind the closure. We will update this story if and when additional information becomes available.
The wine & spirits shop in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center near Hellertown was closed over the weekend for an unspecified emergency. The sign pictured above was taped to the inside of its door. The week after Christmas is typically a very busy one in Pennsylvania’s state stores, as consumers stock up on libations with which to ring in the new year.
