Another 11 Beer Store locations set to close because of ‘changes in the retail market'
The latest round of store closures will affect places like Brampton, Barrie and Wawa, Ont., which will stop operating on Sept. 28, a news release confirmed.
A statement from The Beer Store, which has accompanied each of its store closure announcements, said it was a 'difficult decision,' which came as a result of 'changes in the retail market in Ontario.'
It's coming up on a year since the Ford government allowed grocery, convenience and big box stores to start selling alcohol.
In order to make that possible, the province had to break an exclusivity agreement with The Beer Store, setting aside $225 million for the company.
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Under the agreement signed between the two, the Beer Store must keep at least 300 locations open until the end of this year. After that, it can close as many stores as it chooses.
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The Beer Store itself will not officially confirm how many stores it has closed, nor will it say whether any stores will be left open when its agreement with the government expires. The company is owned by Molson, Labatt and Sleeman.
Calculations by Global News based on public announcements and figures from the union representing workers at The Beer Store show the latest raft of closures will take the total to more than 90 since the changes to how alcohol is sold in Ontario were announced.
The stores set to close on Sept. 28 are:
Bala, 3025 Hwy. #169, Bala, ON, P0C 1A0
Brampton, 10585 Bramalea Rd., Bldg. D., Brampton, ON, L6R 0C1
Clinton, 30 Mill St., Clinton, ON, N0M 1L0
Morrisburg, 111 Main St., Morrisburg, ON, K0C 1X0
Norwich, 49 Stover St. S., Norwich, ON, N0J 1P0
Red Lake, 35 Birks Dr., Red Lake, ON, P0V 2M0
Rodney, 167 Queen St., PO Box 224, Rodney, ON, N0L 2C0
Sharbot Lake, 24585 Hwy. #7, PO Box 10, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H 2P0
South Porcupine, 4145 Harold Ave, South Porcupine, ON, P0N 1H0
Wawa, 156 Mission Rd., Wawa, ON, P0S 1K0
Wingham, 482 Josephine St., Wingham, ON, N0G 2W0
Announcing the closure, the Beer Store added a reminder for people to continue to use its stores to recycle empties.
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More than 1.6 billion alcohol containers were processed at its locations annually.
All grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to accept the return of empties and refund customer deposits starting on Jan. 1, 2026, as part of provincial regulations, the Beer Store said.
— with files The Canadian Press
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