As unbelievable as this sounds, St. Catharines, in the heart Niagara wine country, is getting ZERO grocery stores selling wine in the first wave of 70 locations across the province announced today.
What the hell is going on?
With a population of 131,000 or so, St. Catharines was overlooked for such tiny locations as Peterborough (population 116,000) which is getting TWO locations, Sault Ste. Marie (population 75,000), Lindsay, yes LINDSAY, (population 20,000) and even Orillia (population 30,000). The list goes on.
Even Niagara Falls, with a population of barely 80,000, is getting TWO stores with wine and cider sales — Food Basics on Montrose Road and Freshco on Kalar Road have both been given licenses to sell wine.
According to CKTB 610 radio in St. Catharines, the Food Basics already has a license to sell beer, but Freshco also started selling beer, wine and cider this morning.
A total of 300 grocery stores across the province will eventually receive licenses to sell wine by the year 2025.
For a full list of locations across the province click here:
Ultimately, beer, wine, and cider will be available in up to 450 grocery stores, including up to 300 that also sell wine.
This is in addition to the 447 Beer Stores and 654 LCBO stores across Ontario.
The Ontario government, on its website, says this: “On the Our goal is to ensure fair competition and distribution across the province.” Really? How is this fair when Lindsay gets a store selling wine and the heart of wine country, St. Catharines, gets zilch? Doesn’t make sense.
Even looking to B.C. wine country for inspiration, where VQA stores are placed strategically in Kelowna and Penticton, offer convenience for wine consumers to purchase their favourite wines without driving to each and every winery in the region. Many consumers do their exploring and save the buying in the convenience of one easy to shop location when they are done.
Wouldn’t at least ONE location in St. Catharines selling VQA wines only make sense? From where I sit, it certainly does.
Loblaw Companies Limited — which includes Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Zehrs, Your Independent Grocer, Fortinos and No Frills — will have the most licences to sell wine, adding to the original 19 stores licensed to sell beer and cider, increasing access for Loblaw customers in markets across the province.
“Ontarians come to our stores looking for outstanding flavours and meal inspiration,” said Grant Froese, Chief Operation Officer, Loblaw Companies Limited. “With more than 600 varieties of wine, beer and cider on our shelves, we are uniquely positioned to help them put a great meal on their table. Customers in 39 communities will have increased convenience. We applaud the government for making this possible, and we pledge our continued enthusiastic partnership as beer and wine become available in more grocery stores.”
While most locations have launched with a tailored selection, over the coming months the stores will stock more than 400 varieties of wine, 200 beer and 25 cider options, including local and regional favourites and must-try international products, according to a news release from Loblaw.
Seven locations launch today with the full assortment, and will have a wine expert in the store during peak business hours to support customers looking for recommendations and food pairing ideas.
“When we rolled out beer in 2015, we committed to equal shelf space for domestic craft and multinational brands — to the benefit of our customers and small Ontario brewers,” said Greg Ramier, head of liquor sales at Loblaw Companies Limited. “We look forward to giving customers access to great Ontario wines, and giving great Ontario wines access to new customers.”
“We applaud Loblaw’s commitment to Ontario VQA wineries and its proactive efforts to provide our sector with new retail opportunities,” said Richard Linley, president, Wine Council of Ontario. “We look forward to working with Loblaw to continue to drive interest in VQA wines across the province.”
I have reached out to both Loblaw and the wine council for reaction to St. Catharines being shut out of wine in grocery stores. I will add those comments when/if I get them. Linley did get back to me but said he can’t comment on St. Chatharines being snubbed as the bidding process was kept confidential. You would need to contact the LCBO for comment.
The following Loblaw family of stores will now stock wine and beer on shelf (the first seven will have the full assortment today). These are the stores that beat out St. Catharines:
- Ottawa: Loblaws College Square Market, 1980 Baseline Rd.
- Toronto: Loblaws, 2877 Bayview Village
- Toronto: Loblaws, 11 Redway Rd. (Millwood & Laird)
- Kanata: Loblaws, 200 Earl Grey Dr.
- Caledonia: Zehrs, 322 Argyle St. S
- Brampton: Fortinos, 35 Worthington Ave.
- Leamington: Real Canadian Superstore, 201 Talbot St. E
- Listowel: Zehrs, 600 Mitchell Rd, Hwy 23 S.
- Port Elgin: Rowland’s Your Independent Grocer, 1244 Goderich St.
- Chelmsford: Chartrand’s Your Independent Grocery, 4764-17 Regional Road 15
- Toronto: Loblaws Empress Market, 5095 Yonge St
- Toronto: Real Canadian Superstore, 2549 Weston Rd.
- Port Credit: Loblaws, 250 Lakeshore Rd. W.
- Kingsville: Zehrs, 300 Main St. E.
- Hearst: Rocheleau Your Independent Grocer, 1521 Highway 11 W.
- *Renfrew: Sterling’s No Frills, 680 O’Brien Rd.
- *Kemptville: Jonsson’s Your Independent Grocer, Kemptville Mall Hwy. 43 W.
The below locations will stock wine and beer by the end of 2016:
- Vaughan: Fortinos, 2911 Major Mackenzie Dr.
- Vaughan: Fortinos, 3940 Highway 7 R.R #2 (Hwy 7 and Ansley)
- Stoney Creek: Fortinos, 21 Upper Centennial Pkwy S.
In addition, the following two stores will now sell beer and cider:
- Bowmanville: Loblaws Bowmanville Market, 2375 Highway #2
- Wasaga Beach: Real Canadian Superstore, 25-45th Street South
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