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Nine Philly liquor stores will be closed to recover from vandalism

Most Philadelphia locations planned to reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday with limited hours, closing before dark.

Interior of a ransacked Fine Wine & Good Spirits store after a mass theft of merchandise at the state store, which is located in the Adams & Tabor Center off of Adams Avenue in Philadelphia, on Thursday morning, Sept. 28, 2023.
Interior of a ransacked Fine Wine & Good Spirits store after a mass theft of merchandise at the state store, which is located in the Adams & Tabor Center off of Adams Avenue in Philadelphia, on Thursday morning, Sept. 28, 2023.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

Nine Philadelphia liquor stores will be closed for days or weeks as staff clean up the damage — and in some cases reevaluate security measures — after a series of nighttime break-ins and theft this week.

Eighteen of the city’s 48 Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations were burglarized or robbed during the coordinated vandalism that hit several city neighborhoods overnight Tuesday.

At least one, the Adams Avenue location in Olney, was hit two nights in a row, with police reporting an early Thursday break-in there during which thieves shattered the windows and cleared out shelves.

After all city liquor stores were closed Wednesday, most locations planned to reopen about 11 a.m. Thursday, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesperson Shawn Kelly said. “The hope,” he added, is to have most operating on limited hours, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The following locations will be closed until further notice, Kelly said, to “secure and repair:”

  1. 3250 N. Broad St. in North Philadelphia

  2. The Shops at Brewerytown, 3101 W. Girard Ave. in Brewerytown

  3. 4229 N. Broad St. in Hunting Park

  4. 5159 Lancaster Ave. in Parkside

  5. 4906-4908 Baltimore Ave. in Cedar Park

  6. Erie Plaza, 3772 L St. in Harrowgate

  7. 2115 N. 22nd St. in North Philadelphia

  8. Roosevelt Plaza, 6577 Roosevelt Blvd. in Oxford Circle

  9. Adams & Tabor Center, 730 Adams Ave. in Olney

“We continue to prioritize the safety of our employees and our customers,” Kelly said. “We appreciate their continued patience and understanding.”