CSNC EXCLUSIVE: Independent operators share plans for beverage alcohol sales

Pinto’s Convenience: London, Ont. 

To date, 132 retail locations in London, Ont. have been issued a Convenience Store Licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to sell alcohol beginning on Sept. 5. While a good number of these are national c-store brands and gas station chains (including 17 Circle K stores, nine Shell gas stations, four Mobil gas stations and three 7-Eleven stores), independent stores are also looking to serve their neighbourhood communities. 

This includes Pinto’s Convenience, which has already received cider and wine products from the LCBO and is now anticipating its beer order to arrive any day. “Beer will be our biggest shipment of alcohol product,” says Pinto Sood, who has owned the store since 2014. “We are more ready than most.” 

The store layout has been reorganized, with the addition of three new two-door coolers that Pinto purchased from Costco, which will be exclusively for beer, cider and select bottles of wine. “We have also been rearranging our back room because we need a lot more storage space,” says Sood. 

READ: What equipment are c-stores investing in to support beverage alcohol sales?

A non-drinker, he relied on suggestions from customers as well as a friend’s uncle who manages a LCBO store to decide on product and brand inventory. 

“Our customers are really excited to buy beer and wine from us,” he says. “Where we are, on Hamilton Road, there really is no competition close to us. We plan to be very competitive with the prices, too.” 

Pinto’s will have electronic signage visible to pedestrians and traffic to promote alcohol, and has also been sure to meet display requirements, including a “Sandy’s Law Warning Sign” that cautions consuming liquor during pregnancy. 

Because Pinto owns the real estate of his property, he says he has been able to weather challenges to the sector, from COVID to falling tobacco sales. He has no reservations about getting into a new age-restricted category, and while says his location is in a good neighbourhood, the store will employ anti-theft measures, like a magnetic door look remote in case of a grab-and-dash attempt. 

“There are always risks associated with business, and I am a high risk-taker,” says Sood. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But we have taken the risk, and hopefully this will work well for us.”

Carp Foodliner: Carp, Ont. 

Almost 100 establishments in Ottawa and the surrounding area have secured a Convenience Store Licence. When the AGCO opened up applications on June 17, Carp Foodliner was one of the first to apply, getting its licence issued by the provincial regulator on July 7. “I applied for it right away,” says August Guo, owner (with his wife, Cathy Xu) of the only c-store in Carp, Ont., a village of a couple thousand residents about a 30-minute drive from Ottawa. 

With Carp Foodliner’s first delivery of beer and wine anticipated to arrive soon, “we should be ready to sell beer on Sept. 5,” says Guo. The order includes well-known brands like Coors Light, Corona Extra, Busch, Molson Canada, Budweiser, Stella Artois, Bud light, Michelob Ultra and Heineken. “To make my first order, I gathered feedback from local residents and also looked for information online to determine the more popular brands.”

About 400 sq. ft. of the store’s roughly 1,000 sq. ft. will be devoted to liquor, with refrigeration space found by squeezing dairy products from two display coolers to one. A 41-cu. ft. True display cooler will only feature beer and other alcoholic products. “My plan is to buy one or two more display coolers for alcohol,” adds Guo. 

He has also purchased wood plates and made an online order of metal supports to build new wall shelves, thereby saving more space without having to scale back product in other categories. 

Having immigrated to Canada from China in 2001 and operating Carp Foodliner since 2011, Guo says business has been tough in recent years. Cigarette sales, a big revenue and profit generator, have slowed dramatically amid price and tax hikes as well as tobacco companies giving discounts to the big chains. “It’s making the small independent store’s sales slow down deeply,” says the entrepreneur. 

And so, he’s excited about the category, expecting it will bring much-needed growth to his business. 

“I am confident that more customers will come in and that it will help overall with store revenue and profit,” says Guo. “Although there is a small LCBO store in Carp, almost all our local customers say they would like to come to my store to buy beer when they need cigarettes, chips or some [non-alcoholic] drinks.” 

He has come up with a slogan to attract drinkers: “Affordable and convenient liquor product to the local resident,” which will be on signage outside the store. “I’ve set my price lower than the LCBO, which is why I say, ‘affordable beer,’” notes Guo. “I don't think I can become a millionaire by selling better – I just want to survive.” 

Long-time independent: Resort/cottage area

This bustling store—situated in a rural town frequented by cottagers, campers, and more—is awaiting word on a Business Development Bank loan application to help finance a big bet on alcohol. 

Once approved (the owners have been told it’s looking very good), store renovations will include the gutting of its storage area that had been mostly devoted to soft drinks. This will make room for a walk-in cooler that will be custom built. It will measure about 8-ft. wide and 25 ft. long and exclusively be stocked with beer, wine and RTD beverages 

Because the overall store footprint is increasing, “we won’t be cutting back on any of our other categories,” which includes chips, candy, pop, ice cream, and groceries like milk and eggs. 

Mid-to-late September is when this store expects to start ringing up beer and wine sales. (And why the owners asked that their identity not be shared for this article.) “We want to do it right from the get-go,” they note of waiting for the store to be renovated before bringing the product to customers.

The owners have yet to put in their first order, but posted a Google Doc survey on the store’s Facebook page to narrow down the alcohol brands customers would like to see carried. 

“A couple of customers live really close by and said they’d buy three cases or 30 cans of a certain beer a week, so that they don’t have to run into town or the beer store,” say the owners. “All we really need for it to be successful is a handful of nearby customers to be regular buyers.”

According to the information provided by various suppliers to the owners, the average convenience store in Quebec sells about $176,000 per year in beer, wine and RTD beverages. “It would be fantastic for a new category to generate those kind of sales,” they say. “It’s really going to help the industry as a whole.” 

They say alcohol suppliers have also been good about sharing sales for their top brands in helping them make a decision about their order. In addition to stocking favourites for of-age customers, the store also plans to support nearby wineries. “We plan to put product from those wineries that are listed in the LCBO in our coolers—because their wine tastings are only, say, from 11 to 5, and we want to be in good neighbours,” they note. “One winery is trying to get one of their wines in the LCBO just so that we can buy and carry it.” 

Employees have already completed their Smart Serve training, with the owners paying for their time to take the program. “We’re being proactive,” express the owners. “And while the category is a little intimidating, it’s good that Ontario is treating us as adults.”