Cranberry Costco could become only location in the region to sell alcohol

CRANBERRY, Pa. — Cranberry Township officials confirm the Cranberry Costco location wants to sell beer and wine. If the liquor license is approved, it would be the only Costco in the region to sell alcohol.

“It’s one of those deals that it’s convenient. You can buy it at any grocery store, why not here?” Dan Norton of Beaver Falls said.

An orange sign on the Cranberry Township Costco is one you won’t see on any other Costco stores in our area. A public notice that the Cranberry Square Drive location has put in an application with the state to sell alcohol.

Costco shoppers like Arthur Maier, who is originally from the state of Indiana, say purchasing alcohol there was easy.

“They sell wine and beer everywhere, service station - everywhere,” he said.

Ron Henshaw is Cranberry Township’s Director of planning and development. He says he spoke with Costco officials on Monday about its application with the PA liquor control board for a liquor license.

Henshaw says they need to do an inter-municipal transfer of the license, and then the Cranberry Township board of supervisors has to approve it. After that, a mandatory public hearing will be held where the community can share their thoughts.

“Well that’s great! More business for them,” Diane Slack of Cranberry said.

Some believe Costco’s push to sell beer and wine at its Cranberry location is in response to both Wegmans Food Market and a Meijer grocery store moving into the Cranberry area in the next several years. Both stores have said they intend to sell beer and wine. Henshaw says Wegman’s liquor license has already been approved.

“Would it give competition to anything else? Probably just like Costco and all the other big box stores do, but competition never really hurt anybody, did it?” Susan Matlack said.

The licenses aren’t necessarily easy to get, and they’re expensive, with a price tag of around half a million dollars. Henshaw says he isn’t sure about Costco’s logistics for how and where alcohol will be sold.

Cranberry Township officials have urged Costco to submit the required paperwork by Nov. 17 so the issue can be put on the Dec. 11 agenda for public comment.

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