Convenience stores quickly signing up to sell beverage alcohol in Ontario
With applications having come in by the thousands, c-stores in Ontario are far outpacing the number of grocers looking to bring alcohol into their merchandising mix.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) opened its application process on June 17, 2024, for new and existing convenience and grocery stores to apply for alcohol retail licences.
And as of July 25, the AGCO has received 3,901 applications from across the province for Convenience Store Licences. Of these, 3,500 have been approved.
In comparison, the AGCO has only received 122 applications for Grocery Store Licences —3.1% the tally for c-stores. Of these, 101 have been approved.
“Most of the licences issued to date have been to businesses that already hold a lottery retailer, liquor sales or grocery store licence from the AGCO,” says Raymond Kahnert, who works in the provincial agency’s communications department. “As such, they have already been vetted for eligibility and compliance (i.e. their ability to act with honesty, integrity and in accordance with the law) and will therefore usually receive their new licence in a matter of days. This reflects the AGCO’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden wherever possible, providing excellent service, and saving licensees time, effort and money.”
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As for new applicants without an existing licence? “They must undergo the AGCO’s eligibility review before being approved,” Kahnert tells CSNC. “This process includes background checks and enterprise and personal disclosures for all key people related to the business, which can typically take three to six weeks.”
Curious to see who your competition might be once the market officially opens up?
The AGCO has created a web-based portal, iAGCO, that features a search function by city or town of the number of licences and the applications approved by establishment name and location. (To search, input the name of the community under Address and select the Licence Type from the pull-down menu, “Convenience Store Licence.” If you want to look at grocers, select from the menu, “Grocery Store Licence.”)
A search by CSNC of “Convenience Store Licence” found 236 approved or “active” stores in Toronto, 107 in Hamilton, 83 in Windsor, 67 in Ottawa, 67 in Kitchener and 21 in North Bay.
Circle K has 42 of the licences in Toronto, followed by Rabba Fine Foods (14), INS Market (8) and Hasty Market (7). The Couche-Tard chain also looks to be a major seller of alcohol in Kitchener, where 12 Circle K stores and a Mac’s store have been approved for a licence, while Little Short Stop— a regional brand acquired by MacEwen in June—has secured licences for seven of its stores in that city.
Newly licensed convenience stores can start selling alcohol on Sept. 5. Grocery stores that held an existing licence to sell beer, wine or cider have been able to start selling ready-to-drink beverages and large beer pack sizes since July 18, 2024. Grocery stores, including big box stores, with new licences cannot start selling alcohol before October 31, 2024.
