'It's a pretty big thing': Elora grocery store opting to sell booze, but others say it's too much work

There's been mixed reaction from grocery stores in Waterloo region to Premier Doug Ford's plan to boost the number of places where Ontarians can buy booze.

Erin Sinclair, bakery manager at Geddes Street Market in Elora, said her store applied and was granted the licence to sell liquor because there aren't many option near them for people to buy alcohol.

"We were excited to hear that they were opening it up to a couple more grocery stores and hoping it would bring in some more business as well," Sinclair told CBC News.

"Quite a few people have asked if we carry wine."

The Ontario government announced in May that it was introducing sales of beer, wine and ready-made cocktails into corner stores and additional supermarkets 16 months ahead of schedule, a move that would see the province pay up to $225 million to The Beer Store.

Retailers, including convenience stores and gas stations, will be able to start selling the low-alcohol beverages as of Sept. 4, while all other supermarkets and grocers will be able to sell beer, wine, cider and canned spirit drinks as of Oct. 31.

The province says the process for applying for a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) opened on June 17.

Sinclair said Geddes Street Market has stocked up on liquor as they await the Oct. 31 date to start selling. She said the reaction from the community has been "pretty good." 

"It's a pretty big thing, also because we're open on holidays — because we're an independent store, so we can be open — people are also pretty excited about that," Sinclair said.

Carmine Caccioppoli, co-owner of Vincenzo's Waterloo location, said his store decided against applying for the licence.

"With our limited space, we chose not to … it's going to not allow a lot of our staff that are high school students here to work here because they're going to be underage," Caccioppoli said.

"It's going to just create some real difficulties within the store, and fortunately in uptown Waterloo here, we've always had a great liquor store just about a block away. So, there really wasn't any need to offer any extra convenience because it was pretty close by already."

Caccioppoli said the store offers non-alcoholic versions of all spirits, wine and beer, and demand for those products has "exploded over last year" and is now a very big part of the business.

"So, we've just decided to continue on with that  — be a little different than what other places offer and become a destination for the alcohol-free selection," he said.