Beer at the grocery store

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

My opinion is when the provincial government deregulated liquor to the private sector in the 90's, they didn't want to go all the way as to allow anyone to sell it. No other province allowed it except maybe Quebec and I think they may have been worried about a backlash from the public, moving to such an American style system. So they went down the middle of the road and allowed private sales in actual liquor stores.

Now that the infrastructure is on place, it would be pretty hard to allow everyone to sell booze. It would put a lot of people out of business as there would be no real reason to visit the actual liquor stores. I think if the government is going to deregulate, it needs to allow everyone to sell from the get go. If not, to many people will lose their business 15-20 years down the road.

Just my take on it.

I never really thought of that. Good point. But there would still be a reason to go the actual liquor stores. While it's inconvenient to have to go somewhere else to buy booze after your groceries, it's probably equally inconvenient to go to Safeway just to buy a case of beer.

I know when they allowed Safeway and Superstore to start selling booze there was a lot of "they'll sell it cheap to get rid of the little guy and then burn us", but that didn't happen.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Doesn't make much sense that you can buy smokes in a grocery store, but not alcohol.

I've never understood that myself either. If liquor and Tobacco is supposed to be the same age to consume they sure don't enforce it that way. I mean if you're supposed to be 18 to smoke why can a 16 year old sit out front of his school and smoke and no one can do anything but scold him? If he had liquor guaranteed they'd be on him giving him tickets.

[Julio]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

I know when they allowed Safeway and Superstore to start selling booze there was a lot of "they'll sell it cheap to get rid of the little guy and then burn us", but that didn't happen.

Actually Rouge, it did happen, not all because of the grocery stores getting into the booze business, but because of fairly natural consolidation in the business. Take the little liquor place near where I live...it went from an independent, to a Willow Park, to a Liquor Barn, to closed. Liquor privitization was sold as being an opportunity for small business, but it's large groups, be they the grocery stores or the Liquor Barns that control most of the market.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Julio

Actually Rouge, it did happen, not all because of the grocery stores getting into the booze business, but because of fairly natural consolidation in the business. Take the little liquor place near where I live...it went from an independent, to a Willow Park, to a Liquor Barn, to closed. Liquor privitization was sold as being an opportunity for small business, but it's large groups, be they the grocery stores or the Liquor Barns that control most of the market.

Shows what I know.

But really, that is just one store. I'm sure there are more like it and I knew they all wouldn't survive, but many of them did. I may have been travelling in alco-socialists circles at the time, but me and my cronies made a point of buying from the little guy. We were convinced that Safeway and Superstore would undercut everybody, and take a loss doing so, until they were the only game in town and would be able to charge whatever they pleased.

[Julio]

That is one store yes, but Liquor Depot runs 33 stores in Calgary alone (Including 4 under the OK Liquor banner). A large number of these were at one time stand alone operations.
I too look (for the most part) for the little guy stores, to the point where when I go out to Valley Ridge to see buddies I stop at the store there and take a pass on the stores on the way there. I do like to buy @ Calgary Co-op though, seeing as how there is the local ownership thing going...in fact it's almost a return to the old days of government ownership cause I own a piece of the store!

[pope04]

Originally Posted by GeoffSK

Well in Saskatchewan, our government regulates all alcohol sales. We have to by our booze at the LBS (Liquer Board Store) or offsale(open till 3am) where all they sell is cold beer and wine. All our beer is pretty much the same price. In fact I can buy Saskatchewan made beer cheaper in Alberta than in Saskatchewan. I was told that the Co-op brand beer in Alberta is brewed by the Great Western Brewing company located in Saskatoon. Apperently Co-op beer is just Brewhouse Lager with the Co-op label.

Now I'm just thirsty.

Then why do you guys all just drink Pil?

[GeoffSK]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

What!? How so? I take it to mean that all the different brands are pretty much the same price, and that sounds just too good to be true.

Imports are more of coarse, but most domestic beer are the exact same price per case and they slowly go up in price over the year (always seems to go up over the long weekends). We do have some cheaper beer like Black Label, Alberta Genuine Draft, Lucky Lager etc which are a few dollars cheaper per box. But Pilsner, Molson Canadian, Kokannee, Coors, and Labatts Blue are always the exact same price/case. I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Can anyone tell me again why we can't buy beer in the grocery store or at convenience stores? .

You can buy beer out of the cooler at the Millarville Store.

Cowperson

[GeoffSK]

Originally Posted by pope04

Then why do you guys all just drink Pil?

Yes Pil seems to be very popular, but I don't remember the last time I bought Pil. I usually by GW, Big Rock, Rickards, or Sleaman's beers.

There is a new Pilsner beer that is sweeping across Saskatchewan. Great Western Pilsner.

[mykalberta]

I am proud that the Alberta societal fabric hasnt degraded enough to allow the purchase of Alcohol at grocery stores.

MYK

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I am proud that the Alberta societal fabric hasnt degraded enough to allow the purchase of Alcohol at grocery stores.

What effect does the location of beer sale have on societal fabric?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I am proud that the Alberta societal fabric hasnt degraded enough to allow the purchase of Alcohol at grocery stores.

MYK

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

What effect does the location of beer sale have on societal fabric?

And how does the fact that,

Originally Posted by Cowperson

You can buy beer out of the cooler at the Millarville Store.

affect your hypothesis?

[Rerun]

We should consider ourselves very lucky here in Alberta.

In Ontario, if you want to buy beer you can only purchase it in a government owned and operated "Beer Store" or the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) store. Wine and hard liquor can only be purchased in LCBO stores.

http://www.nupge.ca/news_2007/n05ap07c.htm

Ontario says no to convenience store wine and beer sales
Premier praises job LCBO and Beer Stores are doing to screen out sales to underage customers

Toronto (5 April 2007) - The Ontario government says it is not prepared to allow the sale of wine and beer at convenience stores across the province.

In making the decision, Premier Dalton McGuinty praised the socially responsible role now being played by employees of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and Beer Store outlets in screening out sales to underage customers.

"It's really tough if you are underage in Ontario to buy wine or beer or liquor through the LCBO or Beer Store. It's a good system," McGuinty said this week, speaking in the legislature and to the media.

"(Parents) enjoy the fact that they feel tremendous confidence knowing that it's really tough if you are underage in Ontario to buy wine or beer or liquor through the LCBO or Beer Store," McGuinty said. "It's a good system. It ain't broke."

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I am proud that the Alberta societal fabric hasnt degraded enough to allow the purchase of Alcohol at grocery stores.

MYK

Huh??

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Speaking of US liqour stores.

I went and visited my friend who lives in a college town in the exciting state of South Dakota. Well one day when I was there we went to grab some beer (which is crazy cheap BTW), so we went to the grocery store to pick some up. As weird as that was for me, I noticed a rather large section in the middle of all the alcohol that all these small little boxes. It didn't really click what their where until one of the girls I was with said, "let's pick up some shells too, haha." So of course my naive mind thinks "shells of what?" Until I put two and two together, "Oh bullets!". They were selling ammunition in the middle of all the liquor! Possibly the worst combination of two products I have every seen together.

So I explain this rather unusual chain of events (to me at least) to one of my friends, fellow South Dakotan local. Who proceeds to show me his Concealed weapons licence!

*plays tune from Deliverance*

Heck, I'll bet you can guy beer and bullets at a gas station in the US ... a veritable one-stop carnage shop.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Julio

That is one store yes, but Liquor Depot runs 33 stores in Calgary alone (Including 4 under the OK Liquor banner). A large number of these were at one time stand alone operations.
I too look (for the most part) for the little guy stores, to the point where when I go out to Valley Ridge to see buddies I stop at the store there and take a pass on the stores on the way there. I do like to buy @ Calgary Co-op though, seeing as how there is the local ownership thing going...in fact it's almost a return to the old days of government ownership cause I own a piece of the store!

That's the best liquor store in town.
I used to live there and the dude that runs it is awesome.
If you ever need to buy a keg, this is the place to go.