Vitale, 59, who has owned Italian restaurants and pizza shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is putting stock in this variety trend for beers with a new store he plans to open in Ardmore. The Beer Shoppe would occupy the 2,700-square-foot vacant space at 44 Greenfield Ave. in the Ardmore Plaza, previously a CVS store.
The Beer Shoppe could open as early as March or as late as May, depending on various required approvals, Vitale said.
The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners approved the transfer of a liquor license to Vitale from a Norristown restaurant at its Jan. 18 meeting. The license transfer is now awaiting approval from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Lower Merion Commissioner Steven Lindner, whose Ward 4 is near the proposed shop, said constituents had expressed concerns.
Lindner wondered what could happen when a person left the store, since, under Vitale's concept for the shop, customers would be able to buy and drink a bottle of beer on the premises. Lindner and some Ward 4 residents also said they feared a customer could buy beer and bring it to nearby Vernon Young Park.
In an e-mail, Lindner wrote that he and others viewed the liquor-license transfer "as a threat to the quality of life in the area."
At a Jan. 9 meeting of the Ardmore Progressive Civic Association, some residents pointed out that a number of churches, playgrounds, and pools were near the proposed beer store.
Vitale said that "anything is possible if someone wants to break the law" and that his business and prices would more than likely discourage such behavior.
Vitale said he thought the residents' questions and concerns were legitimate but emphasized that he was not proposing a bar. Customers would have to adhere to limits, he said, because he would not overserve.
"I think this is going to be a real positive complement to the area," he said. "It's going to be a retail establishment, so closing time would not be 2 a.m.
