The Beer Store announces closures in southern Ontario

The Beer Store says it’s closing five of its locations. CTV’s Ashley Bacon finds out what may be behind the decision.

The Beer Store says they’re closing four of their locations in southern Ontario and one in northern Ontario.

In a statement to CTV News on Wednesday, the company confirmed the stores shutting down are:

• 400 King St. West in Kitchener
• 140 Main St. in Erin
• 514 Adelaide St. North in London
• 195 St. Clair Blvd. in Corunna
• 1106 Front St. in Hearst

The Kitchener and Erin locations are both set to close on April 27.

The Beer Store said employees will have the option to transfer to another location or take a severance package.

Why are stores closing?

The Beer Store says the closures are the result of a changing retail landscape.

“Like any retailer in today’s evolving marketplace for beverage alcohol, we are continually evaluating our business operations to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our customers and adapting to change,” Ozzie Ahmed, the company’s vice president of retail, explained in an email. “The Beer Store is closely watching our retail stores and making decisions on what makes the most sense for how we operate as a business. Any decision we make considers our commitment to serving our customers.”

Bruce Winder, a retail analyst, said one factor is Ontario’s decision to allow alcohol sales in convenience stores.

“One can argue that the demand for beer has gone down over the years, so it’s a declining category,” he told CTV News. “More market share of that category is going to convenience stores, grocers, especially with the recent government changes.”

“With the stroke of a pen, the government made alcohol more convenient, in their opinion,” agreed John Nock, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (CFCW). “The downside of that is The Beer Store no longer is going to pay for all the brick and mortar [locations] that it has when the brewery’s beer is selling in other locations.”

Nock said 23 of the company’s stores have closed since May 2024.

“It is no surprise. I’ve been aware that store closures are coming. How many? We don’t know.”

The union also warned that more cuts could be coming.

“With the early implementation agreement, they have to have 300 [stores] open by the end of this year,” Nock said. “Then in 2026, they can close however many they like.”

The Beer Store opened in 1927 and, according to its website, is owned by 30 Ontario-based brewers. The company said they have 7,000 employees across 446 retail locations.

Returning empties

Empty wine, spirits and beer containers are currently collected at The Beer Store locations, which are part of the Ontario Deposit Return Program.

A refund of $0.10 or $0.20 is given for every bottle or can that is brought back.

“There’s a lot of people, believe it or not, that subsidize their income by collecting empty beer and alcohol containers that are in blue boxes,” said Nock. “$100, or a couple hundred dollars worth, once a week.”

According to Winder, the return process is also shifting.

“Rules have been passed that are putting the onus of recycling on larger grocers and larger convenience stores,” he explained. “If they’re a certain size, they have to pick up those responsibilities. So, when that happens, and people are able to return more at the site of where they’re buying it, there’s less need for The Beer Store.”

“I think it was a wrong move to put alcohol into corner stores,” said Donna Carvalho, who grew up in Montreal but now lives in Erin, Ont. “I truly believe that they need to stop that, reverse it, and save people’s jobs, especially with everything that’s going on with Canada and the U.S.”

She added that having fewer place to return empties will impact those who need it most.

“For the people in the community, especially in Erin, a lot of the community doesn’t drive and they’re elderly,” Carvalho explained.

Anyone who typically returns their empties to the stores that are closing are advised to drop them off at other locations. A detailed list is available on The Beer Store’s website. Grocery stores more than five kilometres away from a The Beer Store location are also required to accept empties. Those stores are listed on a provincial map.