The shift to selling beer in convenience stores has cost London one Beer Store outlet in the city’s core, and workers fear more stores may follow, cutting jobs as they shut down.

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The shift to selling beer in convenience stores has cost London one Beer Store outlet in the city’s core, and workers fear more stores may follow, cutting jobs as they shut down.

The Beer Store on Piccadilly Street closed earlier this month, one of 23 across Ontario that have shuttered since September when beer began selling in convenience stores.

It is a staggering high total in only a few months and the union representing Beer Store workers fears the store closings will accelerate, said John Nock, president of Local 12R24 United Food and Commercial Workers.

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“I am concerned about this, I have been since 2018 when (Premier Doug) Ford said he wanted beer in convenience stores. People are not screaming to get a beer, people are screaming for a family doctor,” Nock said.

“We do not need this, we do not know why he is doing it.”

Beer Stores in Stratford and Thedford also have closed, Nock said.

No jobs were lost when the store on Piccadilly Street closed because workers were absorbed into some of the other nine Beer Store outlets in London. But if more closings occur, there will be job losses, Nock fears.

“We could lose 4,000 jobs easily,” he said of the long-term fallout from the retail shift across Ontario. The union has 6,500 members.

The Beer Store is changing to meet the needs of consumers and shifting to convenience locations is part of the “evolving marketplace,” said Ozzie Ahmed, vice-president retail for The Beer Store

“We are continually evaluating our business operations to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our customers and adapting to change. 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,” he said.

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With beer and wine sales also in more than 400 grocery stores, empty bottles have to be returned now to the Beer Store. But in 2026, the province wants grocery stores to take the empties and if they refuse, the grocer will not be allowed to sell beer, Nock said.

That may accelerate store closings, he said.

“My biggest concern is people have been selling beer safely, responsibly and efficiently and now they are being pushed aside,” he said.

An average Beer Store outlet can employ about 15 people, both full time and part time, Nock said.

The push to close stores early has cost Ontario taxpayers more than $600 million, Nock said. The Ontario government gave the beer store $225 million to transition and supply the small retail locations, as well as a 10 per cent discount subsidy to convenience stores the government funded.

When The Beer Store announced the retail move, it was supplying about 4,000 convenience stores and it expects the number to increase to more than 10,000, the company said in a release.

Owned by Ontario-based brewers, The Beer Store is the largest beer retailer in Ontario and sells 1,107 brands from more than 260 brewers. It used to be called Brewers’ Retail and has been in business since 1927.

The Beer Store recycles about 1.7 billion alcohol containers a year, including beer, wine and spirits. 

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