The Beer Store has announced it plans to close a raft of stores, including in locations like Windsor, Toronto and Oakville, as the alcohol sales landscape continues to adjust in Ontario.
Last year, the Ford government followed through on a long-term promise to allow convenience stores, grocers and big box retailers to sell a range of alcoholic drinks, including beer.
The plan negotiated a break with The Beer Store, which had previously had an exclusive alcohol retail agreement with the province. It earmarked $225 million for the chain, including measures to reduce store closures.
Under the agreement with the government, at least 300 Beer Store locations must remain open until the end of 2025. After that, there will be no restrictions on shutdowns.
Since the agreement was signed, the Beer Store has announced several closures, without dipping below the number of stores it promised to keep open.
The latest announcement means 11 more locations will close their doors on July 6, 2025.
“The Beer Store is modernizing operations to meet the needs of the marketplace — this means making the difficult decision to close some stores. We know this will be disappointing to many customers and our valued employees,” Ozzie Ahmed, the organization’s vice-president of retail, said in a statement.
“We don’t make this decision lightly; it is part of our ongoing commitment to business sustainability and serving the needs of our customers.”
The locations set to close are:
- Aurora, 14800 Yonge St., Aurora, ON L4G 1N3
- Coboconk, 6716 Hwy.#35, PO Box 269, Coboconk, ON K0M 1K0
- Cornwall, 1396 2nd St. E., Cornwall, ON K6H 2B8
- Oakville, 104 Lakeshore Rd. W., Oakville, ON L6K 1E3
- Oakville, 1011 Upper Middle Rd., Oakville, ON L6H 4L2
- Richmond Hill, 13469 Yonge St., Richmond Hill, ON L4E 0L2
- Toronto, 609 Roehampton Ave., Toronto ON M4P 1S7
- Toronto, 1580 Avenue Rd., Toronto ON M5M 3X6
- Wiarton, 690 Berford St., PO Box 202, Wiarton, ON N0H 2T0
- Windsor, 790 Goyeau St., Windsor, ON N9A 1H6
- Windsor, 1780 College Ave., Windsor, ON N9B 1M3
The Beer Store previously announced closures of other locations as competition from convenience stores, grocery stores and big box stores started to bite into its customer base.