Beer here! Business thrives at distributors despite growing sales at convenience stores

As a beer distributor, Nick Hartle figures he runs one of the few mom-and-pop type businesses left in a big-box world.

Having grocery and convenience stores move into his field sounds like a death knell, but Hartle said that hasn't been the case.

“I can honestly say it hasn't affected us at all,” said Hartle, owner of Spaniel Beer Distribution in Vandergrift. “To me, competition is healthy. Customers need to be able to compare you to somebody else. They can decide where they want to go and do business, with a family-owned company or with a corporation. That's up to them.”

A Sheetz in Altoona was the first of the chain's locations to sell beer, in 2004. A Giant Eagle in Robinson Township was the first grocery store in the state to sell beer in 2009.

Availability of beer and wine has spread since then to more grocery and convenience stores.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board could not say how many grocery and convenience stores are now licensed to sell beer. They use restaurant liquor licenses, and a spokesperson said it wasn't immediately possible to delineate them from other types of businesses.

Since 2009, Giant Eagle has expanded beer to nearly 50 Pennsylvania supermarkets and more than 20 GetGo convenience stores. Wine is also available in more than 40 supermarkets and 23 GetGos.

“The offering has been very well received by customers who have told us that they want more convenience, and we've seen sales increase year after year after making beer easy to purchase during routine shopping trips,” spokesman Dick Roberts said. “We look forward to expanding the selection of both beer and wine and the number of stores where the product is available in the coming years.”

Today, 21 of Sheetz's 264 Pennsylvania stores, less than 10 percent, sell beer.

Sheetz currently has liquor license transfers pending for 17 locations, spokesman Nicholas Ruffner said.

“Our goal is to sell beer in all locations where possible,” he said. “Beer sales in Sheetz store locations is going well. Customers really like the convenience of a one-stop shop. We're proud to provide another option for consumers.”

A representative of the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania, which represents beer distributors, did not respond to requests for comment.

On its website, the association put forth that beer at supermarkets is “bad for consumers.”

But instead, distributors like Robin Bergstrom, owner of Allegheny Beverage in Harrison, said it's been good for customers, and for her business.

One reason that's true, she and others said, is that while they all can sell quantities down to a single bottle, only a distributor can sell the big cases.

“There's been an explosion of the craft beer market. People want to try different beers,” Bergstrom said. “I hear all the time that someone bought a six-pack at Giant Eagle and liked it, and now they want a whole case.

“They can't get that at Giant Eagle,” she said. “We still have that advantage.”

With some cases costing upward of $200, beer drinkers want to try a beer before they invest in a case, Hartle said.

“You want to be sure you like it,” he said.

But previously, distributors couldn't sell 12-packs, six-packs or singles; they couldn't break a case.

“The fact I can sell in smaller packages has helped people try different beers without buying a whole case, which is very nice,” said Sandra Lombardo, co-owner of Sam's Pop & Beer Shop in Arnold.

“There's so much beer out there it's unbelievable. You'll see a lot of these varieties in the grocery store,” she said. “I have people calling me for a whole case of this and a whole case of that. There's so many craft beers.”

Bergstrom said there is simply a strong market in the area for beer in larger quantities — 30-packs and kegs.

“We sell a lot of 30-packs for Steelers parties, Penguins parties, graduation parties and picnics,” she said. “They're not going to buy a bunch of six- and 12-packs.”

And like other small businesses taking on big chains, the distributors say they rely on good customer service and better knowledge of their product to retain customers.

Bergstrom said that includes everything from helping customers select a beer to loading their cars.

“We have folks that know about beer and are good at helping people find the right beer,” she said. “They're not going to get that at a gas station or grocery store.”

The distributors also count on having greater variety and better prices.

“The number of breweries we carry now is just off the charts,” Hartle said. “If it's distributed in Pennsylvania, we carry it. If we don't carry it, we'll go ahead and order that for you.”

Beers bought at grocery and convenience stores are impulse buys, Lombardo said.

“If you want to save money on a case of beer, you're going to go to a beer distributor,” she said. “We're much better priced.”

Running a business started 90 years ago by her grandfather, Lombardo said she has “very loyal customers.”

“I've lost some customers,” she said. “On the other hand, I have wonderful customers who continue to come here and I appreciate them and they still support us.”

But Bergstrom concedes there will be times customers won't turn to her.

“When they want beer, they're going to get it where they can get it. If they're getting gas at Sheetz, they're going to go get it there,” she said. “It's a convenience.”

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.