There are over 160 Hamilton-based stores that have successfully applied and been issued a Convenience Store Licence to sell alcohol starting Thurs., Sept. 5, 2024. Photo Credit:Pexels.
The Ontario government is moving forward on its plan to “increase choice and convenience” when it comes to alcohol sales in the province, and it appears that many Hamilton-based businesses are on board.
According to the iAGCO database on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) website, there are over 160 Hamilton-based stores that have successfully applied and been issued a Convenience Store Licence to sell alcohol starting Thurs., Sept. 5, 2024.
In the database, there are at least 22 licensed locations in Stoney Creek, six in Waterdown, six in Ancaster, four in Dundas, and two in Binbrook.
The remaining 123 locations are simply listed as being in Hamilton.
The list includes convenience stores such as Essos, Pioneers, Hasty Markets, 7-Elevens, Avondale Food Stores, Canadian Tire Gas Bars, Big Bees, Big Bears, Petro-Canadas, and Circle Ks.
According to the province, on September 5th all of those accepted convenience stores will be able to sell beer, cider, wine, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages (e.g. vodka sodas, hard iced teas, hard lemonades).
Additional convenience stores could receive licenses in the coming weeks.
Also, as part of the government’s expansion of alcohol sales, the 450 grocery stores across the province that are currently licensed to sell beer, cider, and wine were permitted to start selling ready-to-drink beverages and large beer pack sizes starting Thurs., July 18, 2024.
That change was originally supposed to start on Aug. 1, but Ford announced that he would be moving up the date in response to the LCBO strike that was in place at the time.
The province’s alcoholic beverages map shows that several Fortinos and Walmart locations in Hamilton already carry alcoholic beverages and are now licensed to sell ready-to-drink products as well.
There are a few other grocery stores throughout the city that also qualify.
While only grocery stores that are already licensed to sell alcohol are permitted to sell ready-to-drink products and large pack sizes, after Oct. 31, 2024, the province says that the final phase of their plan will be implemented and all eligible grocery and big-box stores, including those that are new applicants, will be able to sell those items.
Ontario’s Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy called his government’s alcohol sales expansion “an important milestone for grocery retailers and consumers alike as we continue our work modernizing Ontario’s alcohol marketplace.”
“Our government is keeping our promise to give people in Ontario choice and convenience while supporting Ontario-made beverage producers across the province, including the Ontario businesses that produce more than 80 per cent of the ready-to-drink beverages sold here in our province,” he continued.
By the end of October, the government says that an estimated 8,500 new stores will be able to sell alcohol, which is reportedly the largest expansion of consumer convenience since the end of prohibition almost 100 years ago.
Despite the expansion, it should be noted that Ontario’s permissible hours of sale for alcohol by retail stores remain the same, with sales only allowed between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
