You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania, as the old tourism slogan goes. Friendsville Discount Liquors didn’t know just how many until the past month.

“I’m getting bombarded by people in PA. We’re the first liquor store from the border,” said Kim Spear, manager of the small beverage shop in the tiny town along the Youghiogheny River just across the state line in Garrett County, Md.

Pennsylvanians last week continued to flood Friendsville, a town of fewer than 500 people about 90 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Other border towns in Delaware, New Jersey and New York, Ohio and West Virginia have experienced the same, as Keystone State residents hit the road during the coronavirus pandemic in search of a commodity now in short supply here: booze.

In an effort to slow the spread of the deadly virus, Gov. Tom Wolf started closing all bars across Pennsylvania on March 15, including in Allegheny County. At the end of closing on St. Patrick’s Day, he shuttered the 600 state-owned Fine Wine & Spirits stores — a major way residents buy liquor.

Legally, at least. (Direct sales from Pennsylvania distilleries are still permitted.)

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board attempted to ease at least some of the pent-up demand by announcing it would start limited curbside pickup at certain Fine Wine & Spirits stores across the state on Monday. That’s something that LCB officials were saying wouldn’t happen as late as Thursday.

A 49-year-old Lower Burrell resident said he bought a few bottles before Pennsylvania closed its stores March 17.

“I’m not one of those people who went crazy and got 15 packs of toilet paper or anything, so I went through that,” Ian said.

The Tribune-Review is not identifying people interviewed who said they brought alcohol into Pennsylvania.

Ian said he made several unsuccessful attempts to access the Fine Wine & Good Spirits website, which reopened to limited, randomized sales April 1.

“I got fed up,” he said. “So I went to Ohio.”

Twice he drove to North Lima to buy liquor at Chalet Premier, a shop 8 miles over the border in Mahoning County. Each time, he bought for himself and his wife, their daughter and some friends.

The small parking lot was packed with about 20 cars, including many with Pennsylvania tags, he said.

“They come out to you,” he said of store clerks in masks and gloves. They took orders and credit card payment, then returned with a receipt and the bottles, which they placed in the trunk of his Chevy Cruze.

Some of his family in Buffalo, N.Y., said their liquor stores operate similarly.

“Why can’t Pennsylvania have a system like that at this time?” he asked.

On Saturday, the state Liquor Control Board announced that it would begin a similar, limited system. Starting Monday, certain state liquor stores across the state will take orders by phone and provide curbside pickup between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

The LCB, which operates the state stores, announced Thursday it will continue to expand fulfillment centers for online orders — growing from being able to fill about 700 orders a day to now about 1,800.

By the Trib’s analysis, the state lost $6.5 million a day — or $91 million total — in the first two weeks its wine and liquor stores were closed. More than $100 million has been lost since, offset by about $2 million in online sales.

“We are losing so much money on alcohol,” said Chris, 52, of Penn Township, who twice drove to Maryland to buy liquor — first for himself and his brother, then for friends. “It’s ridiculous.”

About 20 years ago, he recalled family driving out of state to buy alcohol for a wedding to save money — and them joking to be careful not to get caught at the state line, as it was illegal.

“But I would have thought that law would have changed by now.”

It hasn’t, even though the state House in 2015 passed a bill to change that. It failed to pass the Senate.

State weighs in

“It is unlawful to import, possess or sell liquor, wine or malt or brewed beverages — basically any and all alcoholic beverages — from another state,” said Ryan Tarkowski, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg.

Penalties for the misdemeanors can bring fines from $100 to $500, which could bring jail time up to three months if not paid.

Still, state police have not charged anyone with bringing alcohol into Pennsylvania in the past month, Tarkowski said.

However, in March troopers seized 59 bottles of liquor and charged a 24-year-old Erie man after accusing him of buying alcohol in Ohio and offering to sell it on social media.

State police “to some degree curtailed dedicated enforcement details focusing on them as we shifted resources to other priorities,” Tarkowski said. “Again, we want people to know that criminal penalties are possible for violators. But, similar to enforcing the stay-at-home order and order suspending in-person operations of non-life-sustaining businesses, voluntary compliance is preferred.”

Little of that seems to be happening.

Business at liquor stores in surrounding states spiked immediately after stores here closed, with Pennsylvanians crossing borders to buy alcohol. Three counties in West Virginia last month shut off liquor sales to Pennsylvania residents, a move Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine followed last week when he barred stores in counties bordering Pennsylvania from selling liquor to out-of-state residents.

“This is necessary because I’ve seen repeated complaints from chiefs of police, from others from that part of the state about the situation with people coming in from Pennsylvania in those counties,” DeWine said in explaining the move to safeguard against coronavirus spread.

State police in Delaware this month turned away droves of Pennsylvanians crossing the border to buy alcohol, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

A Wolf spokeswoman said the governor has considered the impact his decisions have had on neighboring states and continues to urge people to stay home.

“The pandemic has created many similar dynamics where closure decisions made in one state have caused residents to travel to other states,” Lyndsay Kensinger said.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’

Pennsylvania had been the only state to close its liquor stores, deeming them among nonessential, non-life-sustaining businesses. On Saturday, it walked that back a few steps, cracking open certain state store doors for limited hours and sales.

Many consumers, however, view liquor as essential.

For the past two decades, state-operated wine and spirits stores in Pennsylvania set new sales records each year — including nearly $2.7 billion in sales last year. Nearly $1.4 billion of that was spent on liquor, the state reported.

Allegheny County ranked No. 1 in sales last year, bringing in $310 million. Westmoreland ranked No. 9, with almost $66 million in sales.

That helped Nick Catsoules, who has owned Gino’s Drive Thru and Liquor in Youngstown since 1988, understand why his business skyrocketed as soon as Pennsylvania stores closed.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years here,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Pennsylvanians typically make up less than 2% of his business, located a few miles over the border. That increased to more than 30% over the past few weeks, he said.

Though he sells beer and wine, Catsoules said Pennsylvanians weren’t buying that. They can get it at home, as beer distributors, restaurants, grocers and convenience stores can still sell those products.

“The reason people were coming over was for the liquor,” he said.

The flow halted “almost to nonexistence” after DeWine on Monday barred liquor sales in border counties to out-of-state residents.

“I guess that that is a good thing to limit the spread of the disease,” Catsoules said. “But I am sympathetic to Pennsylvania customers. … That is not something they should have taken away cold turkey.”

Spear, the manager of Friendsville Discount Liquor in Maryland, said her business has tripled since Pennsylvania state stores closed.

Still, she fears stocking up too much to satisfy Pennsylvanians’ thirst for liquor and then being stuck.

Another shipment arrived from Baltimore on Thursday to replenish barren shelves with more bottles of gin, vodka and whiskey.

“We’re just a small town, and we’re a small liquor store. I order to accommodate local people,” Spear said. “It’s just hard calculating what to get back in because the next day Pennsylvania could say we’re opening the liquor stores again.

“And that would bite me in the butt.”

Spear might feel a pinch on Monday, but Pennsylvania still is limiting sales and store hours.

Last Tuesday, four cars were parked in a few spaces outside. Two were from Pennsylvania. A third soon arrived.

Cassie, a 21-year-old Duquesne University student from Jefferson Hills, made the 80-minute drive with two friends. She bought one bottle of tequila.

“I’m not a huge liquor person, but I did want to make margaritas,” she said.

Run for the border

Restricted sales to Pennsylvania residents in some West Virginia counties hasn’t stopped Anna, 48, of Hempfield.

She and her husband have gone to Morgantown, W.Va., twice to buy liquor — a half-gallon each of Jack Daniels Whiskey and Bacardi Rum, along with bottles for other people.

“Gas stations down there even sell it,” she said.

Their second trip came after the ban.

“I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? What are we going to do?’ ” Anna said.

She asked a West Virginia woman exiting the store if she would buy it for her. They both went back in so Anna could pick out her bottles, and the woman paid using Anna’s card. Stores also are limited to selling three bottles at a time.

“I needed four, so she even made a second trip for me,” Anna said. “This woman was a saint, and I paid her $5 for doing it.”

Despite it being illegal, Anna and her husband planned to return Friday for another run — this time to Wheeling, which is in a county still open to selling to Pennsylvanians.

“We have to get out of the house to do something,” she said.

Even bootlegging?

“Why not?” Anna said, laughing.

Ian and Chris also said they would cross state lines again, if necessary.

“I’m like everyone else nowadays. I’m turning into a home-alone alcoholic,” Chris said. “If it goes past June, I might have to go again.”

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