Country convenience or concern?
After being approved to sell beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink alcoholic products, Kiru Selvaradnam removed the juice products from three coolers in his Shanty Bay convenience store to make room for the new stock.
Within hours of being allowed to sell the new product, much of the Coors and Miller Light was gone.
“It’s been not too bad,” Selvaradnam said Friday morning from behind the counter of Anish’s Mart, located at the corner of Ridge Road West and Oro-Medonte's Line 2 South in the heart of the lakeside village. “But it’s only been one day.
“The parties start on Friday night, so we’ll see how we will do tonight," he added.
Expecting the new product to increase sales, Selvaradnam has decided to keep his store open a couple of hours longer, closing at the same time as alcohol sales stop, which is 11 p.m.
One of more than 4,000 convenience stores across the province that are now licensed to sell alcohol, Selvaradnam thinks he will do well, citing convenience as the primary driver.
“The neighbours can walk over and get what they want. It’s good," he said.
While it may be good for store owners who are allowed to sell alcohol for the first time, there are existing alcohol sellers who may not be as enthusiastic.
READ: CSNC EXCLUSIVE: Independent operators share plans for beverage alcohol sales
Palak Patel runs the Coulson General Store at the corner of Horseshoe Valley Road and Oro-Medonte's Line 7 North, about halfway between Barrie and Orillia.
It’s been an LCBO Convenience outlet for a number of years.
“I’m sure it will have a negative impact on sales,” Patel said Friday morning. “Everybody’s selling now and that’s going to affect us.I think we will be OK, though,” she added.
Patel says her customers are fairly loyal, and while she expects most of them to remain that way, she has decided to step up her game, just in case the allure of cheap booze elsewhere impacts her business.
She’s offering a one-stop shop for food and beverage for rural residents.
“We’re selling food — samosas, butter chicken, chicken curry — so people can stop in and get dinner and drinks at one location,” Patel said.
The LCBO Convenience outlet in Baxter, located inside the Pioneer gas station at the corner of County Roads 21 and 10 in Essa Township, doesn’t have those challenges. It’s the only place in the village where you can purchase alcohol and it’s been that way for about five years.
“You could go to Angus or Alliston, those would be the closest places,” said Fenil Gagera, who’s been working at the Pioneer outlet for the past year. “We’ve been here for years. Our prices are the same as any LCBO and we have a wider variety of beverages available, so I don’t think we’ll be affected all that much.”
One location that may experience a significant sales increase is the Shell station at the corner of George Johnston Road and County Road 90, west of Barrie on the way to Angus.
McDonald’s opened a restaurant at that location earlier this year and now, with the introduction of alcoholic beverages in the convenience store right next door, it could be viewed as a traveller’s oasis. You can get gas, food and booze in one spot.
“I really don’t know how well alcohol will do. It’s the first time for us selling it, but it’s very convenient for customers,” said Jigna Makwana, a store employee.
And that’s important to Angelo Aloisio.
“I think it’s a great idea,” the Newmarket resident said after paying his bill at the Shell station. “Every other province sells alcohol in convenience stores. I’ve been to other countries where they do the same and there’s no issues.
“It feels like we’re finally coming of age.”
