Expansion of alcohol sales 'really good news' say London, Ont., convenience store owners

Some convenience store owners in London, Ont., say they've been waiting for the opportunity to sell alcohol in their shops because it will bring in more sales and help small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat in a challenging economy.

Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday that Ontarians can purchase beer, wine, cider and seltzers at convenience stores, big box outlets, some gas stations and more supermarkets starting in 2026 — a move intended to modernize how alcohol is sold in the province. 

The expanded marketplace for alcohol will offer consumers more choice, convenience and time, Ford said at his announcement at a convenience store in Toronto.

"This is really good news for the small business owners like me," said Bhavesh Patel, who owns Neighbours Convenience Store on Cathcart Street in south London. "Right now, it's very hard to survive in this kind of situation because of inflation and high interest rates."

Patel believes this will also benefit customers who would no longer have to go out of their way to The Beer Store or LCBO if they want to buy booze, he said.

"It'll [make the store] like a one-stop-shop, they can come here to buy beers and can grab chips or regular soft drinks, or ice cream and things like that. They wouldn't get all these other things at The Beer Store or LCBO so this is good for the customers too," he said.

Ontario will be the third jurisdiction in Canada to offer beer in corner stores and the first to sell ready-to-drink cocktails in those locations. The Ministry of Finance estimates around 8,500 new locations where consumers can get low-alcohol products, giving Ontario the third-highest density of alcohol retail stores after Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec.

There will be no caps on the pack sizes of beer, cider and ready-to-drink seltzers sold in the new retail outlets, the government said. Grocery stores in the province that currently offer beer are limited to singles and six packs.

"Some other provinces already have this, so it makes sense to bring it here because it will create more profits for us," said Ankit Kumar-Patel, owner of Carfrae Variety in Old South.

Kumar-Patel said he plans to apply for a license to sell liquor in his store as soon as he's eligible, and will start off with small quantities of single cans to see how it would impact sales.

Patel of Neighbours Convenience Store said it would be helpful if the changes came even sooner, such as next year, because it's hard to predict what the impacts of inflation will be by 2026, he said. 

"That's a long way to go," he said. "It's more than than 700 days and for a small business, every day counts."