HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has taken another step toward allocating previously expired restaurant licenses.
- The PLCB will hold its 12th license auction, presenting an opportunity to allocate 20 expired restaurant licenses across diverse counties
- Interested bidders have until noon Sept. 25 to submit their for consideration
- To participate, bidders must meet a minimum bid of $25,000 per license and provide bid surety of $5,000 or 5% of the bid amount
The PLCB, responsible for regulating the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Pennsylvania, has announced in a news release an invitation for bids in its 12th license auction.
Prospective bidders have to submit their bids before noon Sept. 25.
In the auction, the PLCB is set to award 20 expired restaurant licenses across 20 counties, which include Northampton County.
To make sure the bids are not “frivolous or underfunded,” according to the PLCB, a surety of $5,000 or 5% of the total bid amount (whichever is more) must come with each bid.The PLCB in a news release
Others are Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Clearfield, Clinton, Delaware, Erie, Greene, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northumberland, Pike, Potter and Somerset counties.
Similar to previous auctions, the event will follow a sealed-bid process. On Sept. 27, the bids will be opened, and the successful bidders will be announced shortly after.
Submitting bids
To join in, participants need to put down a minimum bid of $25,000 for each license.
To make sure the bids are not “frivolous or underfunded,” according to the PLCB, a surety of $5,000 or 5% of the total bid amount, whichever is more, must come with each bid.
Winning bidders will earn the right to apply for the licenses within six months of the auction award. If the winner doesn’t make bid payments within two weeks of the award, the opportunity to apply for the license will go to the second-highest bidders.
The complete Invitation for Bids can be found <a href="http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/Solicitations.aspx?SID=260377">online</a>. More information can be found under "Related Solicitation Files."
The PLCB said it will keep all bids safe in escrow until the license application gets the green light.
The complete Invitation for bids can be found online. More information can be found under "Related Solicitation Files."
Bidders are encouraged to submit any questions related to the invitation by email by noon Aug. 25. The state Department of General Services will post responses on the e-marketplace website by 3 p.m. Aug. 29.
In addition, those interested can check out winning bids from the previous 11 auctions on the PLCB’s license auction page. Revenue from the auctions has reached $34.2 million, with an additional $1.9 million currently in escrow, awaiting license approvals.
