Incoming Wawa in South Bethlehem approved to sell beer, wine

• Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 to approve a liquor license transfer for the incoming Wawa
• The store will be located at 770 Hellertown Road in South Bethlehem
• Some officials were concerned with the store's proximity to Saucon Park and a Little League field

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — You may soon be able to snag your favorite brew or choice of red or white at the incoming Wawa set for 770 Hellertown Road in Bethlehem.

City officials on Tuesday signed off on an inter-municipal restaurant liquor license transfer, voting 6-1 for the staple convenience store to offer beer and wine, along with seating for 30, in its new location.

Since there were no current restaurant liquor licenses available within the city, Wawa had to look elsewhere, according to a July 18 letter to the city.

Wawa moved to secure a license from PA Overlook LLC, of Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, the letter said. Following Tuesday’s vote, store officials still need to go before the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for final steps in the deal.

Saucon Source has reported that Wawa officials have designated December for completion of the new store location.

Ellen Freeman with Flaherty & O’Hara, a Pittsburgh law firm specializing in liquor licensing, spoke on behalf of Wawa.

She said 24 other stores statewide have operated with liquor licenses, featuring stellar records with no citations for sales to minors or intoxicated people.

“They’ve been able to figure out what works in those stores, the policies and procedures that they can put in place at those stores in order to ensure that they’re selling alcohol in the safest manner,” Freeman said.

Operational guidelines

Other administrative precautions surrounding the alcohol sales would include a 100% carding policy, Responsible Alcohol Management Program training, as well as security cameras monitoring the registers and alcohol on display.

Each transaction would be limited to 192 fl. oz. of beer and 3000 ml of wine, Freeman said.

If the customer chose to drink in the store, they would be limited to drinking one bottle of beer per session, she added. Along with that, the store wouldn’t feature happy hours, TVs or offer distilled spirits.

Alcohol would be sold Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m., with wine sales ending at 11 p.m. As for Sundays, alcohol would be available from 9 a.m. until 2 a.m., with wine sales ending at 11 p.m.

Officials' comments

Without a high density of people living in that area near the incoming Wawa to raise a flag and even prior public intoxication cases taking place at Saucon Park, council member Paige Van Wirt said she didn’t want there to be issues further down the line if officials went on to approve the motion.

“The major concern I have with this is that it seems to be such a straight shot off of 78 into the Wawa, and then there’s a public park right behind it,” Van Wirt said. “And while consuming alcoholic beverages in public parks is against the law, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

Van Wirt then consulted with Police Chief Michelle Kott to see if there may be a correlation between the alcohol sales and an influx in service calls to the police department.

“Any time you increase a densely populated area, there is an increase in calls for service — whether they be just routine, someone’s locked out of a car, there’s a parking complaint or criminal in nature,” Kott said.

Kott also mentioned Wawa's welcome to partner with her department to pass along security camera footage through a recently approved data-sharing system.

Council member Kiera Wilhelm asked if Wawa officials would prioritize local offerings from nearby breweries and vineyards.

Freeman said the organization would be looking to include offerings from local businesses, even mentioning a purchasing incentive for providing local wine.

Mayor J. William Reynolds said the city in 2017 approved a liquor license transfer to the Turkey Hill just down the way on Hellertown Road.

Kott said that considering the location of the Turkey Hill and incoming Wawa and their proximity to I-78, she’d expect an uptick in service calls to her department — but they’re not necessarily going to stem from alcohol. She added she didn’t remember a case of that ever happening at the Turkey Hill.

Council member Rachel Leon was the lone dissenter of the vote. She also said she wondered if any other Wawas in the state selling alcohol were close to a public park and Little League ball field.

“I’ll probably just echo my concerns about its proximity to Saucon Park; I know Saucon Park has had issues in the past,” Leon said. “I know there’s environmental issues but also issues regarding alcohol consumption in that park.”

City officials approved the Hellertown Road location back in 2021.

With it being placed at a “gateway” location for South Bethlehem just up from the Hellertown border, the city has also allocated $20,000 to go toward a featured sign at the Wawa location to be painted by local talent.

Wawa has two other stores in Bethlehem at 741 E. Broad St. and 2525 Easton Ave.