One Grocery Store in Parry Sound Will be Selling Beer and Ciders This Summer

Seventy-six new independent and large grocery stores in communities across Ontario will be authorized to sell beer and cider as of June 30, 2017. This is in addition to the 130 grocery stores across the province currently authorized to sell beer and cider.

Parry Sound Sobey’s has been selected via a competitive bidding process held by the LCBO. This is the second round of Ontario’s commitment to make it more convenient for people to buy beer, while opening up additional opportunities for breweries and cideries.

The Government of Ontario says that “Giving consumers more choice and convenience, while creating a more dynamic and competitive business environment for beer and cider producers, is part of the government’s plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives”.

The price of beer, wine and cider products will be the same across all retail outlets (grocery stores, the LCBO, the Beer Store, winery retail stores and on-site manufacturers’ stores). The Government of Ontario claims that “In Ontario, prices remain below the Canadian average while improving convenience and increasing choice for customers”.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the downtown traffic this summer. Currently the LCBO and Beer Store in the Town of Parry Sound are located in the downtown which draws traffic into the downtown area.