So I’m down talking to Bob Dano yesterday, owner of Engleside Beverage Mart, about this and that, and he raises a point I hadn’t ever considered - but one I find absolutely stunning.

Did you know, and I didn’t, that there is no state liquor store anywhere between the North Queen street store and the Maryland line?

Nothing at Kendig Square or elsewhere in Willow Street; the store that was in Quarryville is closed. Musser’s Market at the Buck wanted to incorporate a liquor store a few years back, but that was (predictably) torpedoed. Basically, you live in the southern end and you want a bottle of vino, you either drive up to Manor Shopping Center or you hop down into Maryland.

But I’m sure most consumers keep their tax dollars here in Pennsylvania. Right.

This came up in the context of, Dano owns the property next door to his distributor and wants to develop it commercially, and thinks it would be a great place for a liquor store. Which it might be, though a mere two miles or so from the South Queen Street store doesn’t make it a whole lot more accessible for folks who live in, say, Martic Township.

And of course I’m sure there are those who are opposed to TEH DREADED LIKKER working its evil tentacles into the peaceful southern end community. Still, the folks at Willow Valley - who move here from New York and Connecticut and New Jersey and like their Manhattans or Martinis - we’re making them drive to Manor Shopping Center? How does this make any sense from a fiscal standpoint?

I know that at one time the PLCB was looking for a site in southern Lancaster County; dropped the PR person a note to find out if it still is. It’s just amazing to me that if you live in Quarryville or Holtwood - you gotta drive all the way into town for a simple bottle of wine. I know the state store system is supposed to control the sale of alcohol. But this is just ridiculous.

Update: And ridiculous it shall stay.

Nick Hays, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, says that there have been two attempts in recent years to find a spot in southern Lancaster County for a liquor store, but both have been shot down - by referendum in Drumore Township (Musser’s Markets) and a second proposal back in the late ’90s to bring one to Kendig Square, a natural choice but one opposed by local residents; and now the PLCB has more or less given up, there will be no liquor stores in the southern end for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly, Hays also said the state store system is downsizing; 10 stores were closed last year, a bunch more closed already this year, down to 623 stores statewide, as “underperforming” stores are shuttered. Which in one respect is a good strategy, if a store is losing money, why keep it open; at the same time, though, if or when this results in communities where you can’t do something as simple as get a bottle of wine for dinner, how does this in any way benefit Pennsylvania consumers on the whole? Or isn’t it supposed to be about that?