Business & Tech

Wine Sales Bid Denied for Garden Center

The Willistown Township Supervisors said Monday night that Woodlawn Garden Center had not gone through the necessary steps to sell wine.

The Willistown Board of Supervisors denied a conditional use application that would have allowed Woodlawn Garden Center to sell wine at its location on Paoli Pike.

Woodlawn's owners Dave and Rebekah Laughlin Bowser were planning to open a "wine garden" in partnership with Kutztown-based Blair Vineyards. 

In a 3-0 vote Monday night, the supervisors rejected the garden center's application, based on a recommendation from the township solicitor.

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"They did not go through the proper channels. They did not fulfill the requirements that everybody has to do," board chairman Bob Lange said.

In an email sent before the decision, Rebekah Laughlin Bowser said they had received an approval letter from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, but still had to contend with local zoning regulations. She said Woodlawn had a legal right to sell wine from small, local producers as an agricultural product.

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"[T]he vineyard would be able to sell more wine, Woodlawn would hire more staffers, and the community would have a place to gather," she said.

Bowser said Wednesday that they are considering challenging the township's decision in court.


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