Success throughout Windsor at local convenience stores two months after alcohol sales expanded.
On Sept. 5, over 4,000 in Ontario were officially licensed to sell beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails.
Since then, Terry Yaldo, Chair of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association and Owner of Midway Convenience in Windsor, says customers have been very happy and are able to grab what they need in one stop, with more flexible hours offered to them.
Yaldo says they're definitely seeing the increase in foot traffic.
While there has been success, he adds that they are having issues on restocking many of the ready-to-drink cocktails, with delays and shortages of the drinks.
He says the stock issues are part of the growing pains.
"They have added over 4,000 stores across the province to distribution, so it's going to take time for things to settle out, and to be smooth sailing. But, there are some trying times, but we appreciate the patience that our customers have given us, and the understanding because there's only so much that's in our control, so we're doing our best to fulfill their needs."
Yaldo says they try to carry local, especially from breweries in the region.
"It's nice to have that local product on our shelves to help boost their business because we believe in keeping the local economy strong, and keeping that money circulating in Essex County. Same thing with wine, we go out of our way to make sure we get as many local wineries as we can, and we'll continue to grow our portfolio and our offerings to our customers."
He says they've seen many new faces.
"We are definitely seeing an increase in sales overall, and people grabbing a bag of chips, or some snacks. So instead of two or three stops that they possibly would've had to make in the past, they can come to a convenience store and get all of their items all at once, and it helps especially some of the small, independent stores, they're family run stores so any extra business is very much appreciated."
Yaldo says he was concerned about the possibility of under-age teens trying to purchase alcohol when the change was implemented over two months ago, but says he hasn't had a single issue at his location.
Convenience stores are allowed to sell alcohol between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Staff must be trained to sell booze from an approved training outfit such as SmartServe.
