The Big K Morning Show
Happy Hour Expansion and Canned Cocktails
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Tell them that your girl Tasha McKeea sent you, the sharpest rides, affordable, sexy, sharp. You spent it over here. AT&T customers, switching to T-Mobile has never been easier. We'll pay off your existing phone and give you a new one free, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit T-Mobile.com/carrierfreedom to switch today. Pay off up to $650 via virtual prepaid mastercard in 15 days, free phone up to $130 via $24 monthly bill credits plus tax, qualifying, porting, trade and service on go 5G next to credit required. Contact us before canceling entire account to continue bill credits to credit, stop and balance and require finance agreements do. This may be an appropriate song, Aaron, celebration, for many anyway. Hi, this is Larry Richard, The Big K Morning Show and we welcome Sean Kelly, the press secretary for your Pennsylvania Looker control board. Sean, good morning. Good morning, Larry. I've got to tell you that the song you're playing now is the very first 45 I ever owned when I was growing up. How about that? What a coincidence and it's perfect for our conversation for many anyway, because Josh Shapiro, our governor signed in July in expansion of the Looker control board's rules and regs, so I don't want to steal your thunder for those who haven't heard, this is a significant change for many. So what's the deal? Well, it is a significant change and let me start by first thanking you for having me on to talk about this. A lot of people really don't understand what the Pennsylvania Looker control board does. We're the state agency that oversees licensing of all the bars, restaurants, hotels, golf clubs, wineries, breweries, distillaries, but places you don't even think about, hospitals, for example. A lot of hospitals have an alcohol permit because they use it to help sterilize their equipment, laboratories because they use it in their experiments. So we go into that area. We also have a 3.7 billion dollar a year retail business with 580 or so retail locations with an e-commerce website. We have a responsible alcohol management program and alcohol education component. We try to encourage responsible consumption and discourage underage and dangerous drinking. So there are a whole bunch of aspects to what we do. We don't do these things in a vacuum. We do these things when the governor and the legislature decide to change the liquor code and that's what happened in this case. Governor Shapiro and the legislature got together and decided that they were going to loosen up some of our longstanding laws on the books about different things. One was happy hour of something that went into effect last Friday. The happy hour law was loosened to allow licensees, more flexibility in terms of setting their happy hours every week. Talk to some people who are here for a long time, going back to 1985, they saw that we had a restriction in terms of you could have a happy hour for two hours a day and that was pretty much it. Yeah. I didn't realize that, Sean. I didn't know. And excuse my naivete. I had no idea that those happy hours were regulated by the PCLB or the ACB. It said in the law, it's not like we arbitrarily picked numbers. There was actually a law that was passed in December of 1985 that sent happy hours to two hours a day. And it was that way for a very, very long time. And then the last change that was made before this change was back in 2011. So it's one of those things that you don't really think about, but it's one of those things that the governor and the legislature get together and they decide what we're going to do this for licensees and give them a little bit more of a privilege. So that's gotten some publicity and people are very excited about that. What's gotten more publicity is the change to the ready to drink cocktail permits. These are brand new. They allow certain licensees to get a permit where they can sell ready to drink cocktails to go. It's one of the fastest growing alcohol segments out there in the market right now. They're things like a whiskey and Coke in a can, a tequila cocktail in a can. They're popular, they're portable. Some of them are lower in alcohol content, so they're increasingly popular. And the governor and legislature decided that it was time to allow more licensees, the opportunity to sell these products. Where was Sean Kelly, who is the press secretary for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the expansion officially went into effect yesterday. I would imagine you were swamped with applications for these additional licenses, correct? That is correct. We started accepting applications a few weeks ago. It was an opportunity for licensees to really take a look at what the law change meant, decide whether they wanted to make the investment and get into it, and then submit the paperwork so we could start processing it on the very first day. As you said, yesterday was the first day that this took effect. Starting at, I believe, seven yesterday morning, our Bureau of Licensing started looking at the applications and going through them. At the start of the day, we had 1,567 applicants. The seasons may be changing, but the deals at the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on? It's your girl, Tasha McKia. And I need you to join the sharpest rides for their fall into savings events, where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shot from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. The sharpest rides has the perfect ride to match your fall adventures, plus with their exclusive financing options, getting behind the wheel of your dream car has never been easier. Log on and shop online at thesharpestrides.com right from the palm of your hands, or check other massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides, located 2,250 South Sea Home Street in Englewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out. Head forward to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tasha McKia sent you, the sharpest ride, affordable, sexy, sharp. Now, at T-Mobile, get four 5G phones on us and four lines for $25 a line per month when you switch with eligible traders, all on America's largest 5G network. Minimum of four lines for $25 per line per month without a paid discount using debit or bank account, $5 more per line without auto pay, plus taxes and fees and $10 device connection charge. Phones be a 24-monthly bill credits for well qualified customers, contact us before canceling entire accounts and continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement to bill credits and if you pay off devices early, ctmobile.com. Patience? Wow. From all types of retailers, all types of beer distributors, so they started the morning with 1567 and I can tell you that by four o'clock, they were all processed. Wow. Now that's something you don't expect from government, Sean, to be honest, the speedy processing of documents. So this means many places, once they get the okay, they're good to go. They can serve these ready to drink cocktails like gas stations, supermarkets and other grocery stores, wow. That's correct. There were some applicants who did not meet all the requirements. We had about 150 of those. For example, the law requires that the permitees participate and get certified in our responsible alcohol management program, which ties into what I said earlier about responsible consumption. We want to make sure that the people who are buying these, they have valid ID. So we train employees for retailers and distributors, how to spot fake IDs. We teach them how to look for signs of intoxication, that sort of thing. So we want to make sure that these products, while being out there, are out there in a responsible manner and make sure that they're not getting into the hands of people who shouldn't have them. So there were about 150 of those applications that were deemed efficient that we had 1,416 permits issued yesterday. And it was a process. It's not just something as simple as going in and flipping a switch. You have to remember that the licensees who were able to do this, many of them can go into our stores and get discounts. So there's a whole process that we have to do on our end to make sure that all of that works when the licensee goes in to establish, to a fine-line and good spirit store to acquire products. Any shot of getting a license here at the radio station, Aaron wanted me to ask our producer not me. Well, I'm getting, of course, but there's one other thing I want to ask you about in relationship to this. And that's a liquor license where people offer food and drink combos. You will now allow them to add up to two drinks in the cost of a ticket for a self-sponsored event. That's a big change. And again, there are things that, you know, the governor and legislature decided that they needed to loosen up a bit. We saw a last big change in 2016 when act 39 was passed. Governor Wolf and the legislature decided that they wanted to see wine available in grocery stores, convenience stores, and similar locations. So the liquor toad, you know, it dates back to the 1930s. Some people think it's static and many times it is, but when the governor and the legislature decide that they want to do updates to increase convenience or make things more available, kind of loosen the market a little bit, they certainly have the ability to do so. And our job at the LCB is to make sure that we implement whatever they decide to do. We were given 60 days to create this entirely new process out of whole cloth. And as I said, yesterday we had all applications processed between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. So I think our team did a pretty good job. And I will say Chuck Moran, who we've talked to during COVID as they were trying to survive, the executive director of the Pennsylvania License Beverage and Tavern Association, they're thrilled, quote, "This part of the House Bill 829 provides a new tool for bar owners to use within marketing efforts like combining food and adult combos at discounts for patrons. They're all happy. A lot of happy people in this process. Sean, you did a great job outlining this. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me on, Larry. Happy to talk with you about what we do at the LCB. Yeah, really, really good stuff. Sean Kelly, the press secretary for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Really, it was very comprehensive. From the P.J. Fitzpatrick Home Improvement Traffic Center, AAA traffic powered by Bowser Genesis of Monroeville, Heather Zambedo. What's going on? Yeah, still seeing a lot of slow moving traffic on the Parkway East where you're getting in line before Wilkinsburg as you head into the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Parkway West is lining up at the top of Green Tree Hill on the inbound side. Outbound side, mostly up to speed, just a little sluggish around Campbell's run. Parkway North, we're seeing a lot of improvement there, just a little bit of sluggish traffic around Camp Horn Road, and then, again, at Haslett Street as you approach the East Street Valley. Still looking at about a three-light delay on 65 at the McKees Rock's Bridge and 28 inbound sluggish between the Antenobipass and Millvale. With AAA traffic on the fives, I'm Heather Zambedo on the Voice of Pittsburgh, 100.1 FM and AM 1020, KDKA. Thanks, Heather. We got a little bit of sun. It's been mostly cloudy, but we'll see some sun. It doesn't look like rain today, today's high 78, more seasonal than overnight 64, could be a couple of showers around tomorrow, mainly City South. I actually need that rain 62 at the airport now. The seasons may be changing, but the deals at the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on? It's your girl, Tasha McKeea, and I need you to join the sharpest rides for their fall into savings events, where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shop from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. The Sharpest Rides has the perfect ride to match your fall adventures, plus with their exclusive financing options, getting behind the wheel of your dream car has never been easier. Log on and shop online at thesharpestrides.com right from the palm of your hands. Or check other massive inventory in person at the Sharpest Rides, located 2250 South Sea home street in Inglewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out. Head on over to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tasha McKeea, sent you the sharpest ride, affordable, sexy, sharp. Now at T-Mobile, get four 5G phones on us and four lines for $25 a line per month when you switch with eligible traders, all on America's largest 5G network. Minimum of four lines for $25 per line per month without a paid discount using debit or bank account, $5 more per line without auto pay, plus taxes and fees and $10 device connection charge. Phone to be at 24 monthly bill credits for well qualified customers, contact us before canceling entire accounts to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement to bill credits and if you pay off devices early, see T-Mobile.com.