Eventually, about 450 or Ontario’s 1,500 grocery outlets will have that privilege.
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Last month, Queen’s Park announced the list of retailers – a mix of chains and independent stores – that had won the right to carry beer in Ontario.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to stop at an east-end Toronto Loblaws on Leslie Street near Eastern Avenue to kick off the initiative on Tuesday morning.
According to Ben’s Beer Blog, 17 of those stores will be Loblaws locations, and the Oakridge Mall Superstore here in London is among them.
In the GTA, 25 stores are expected to start selling beer as part of the initial rollout. One is for craft beers – stores have to provide 20 per cent of shelf space to small and craft brewers in Ontario – and another for domestic beers such as Labatt’s Blue, Canadian, Budweiser and Coors.
Other large chains that purchased licences to sell beer include Sobeys, Metro, Walmart, Farm Boy, and Michael-Angelos Market Place.
However, those licences could be at risk if more open sales are allowed.
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Officials with the Wine Council of Ontario say the winemakers are disappointed that another deadline for a plan to expand access to Ontario VQA wines will be missed. Only Quebec allows alcohol – beer, wine and liquor – to be sold directly by grocery stores and the like.
