The Ontario government will auction licences to sell beer and wine in approximately 300 supermarkets with no single grocer allowed to buy more than a quarter of them (120) according to the Toronto Star. The LCBO will continue to control the sale of such products and will run the delivery of them to the supermarkets. Convenience stores are apparently still cut out of the beer and wine action. Other known specifics of the program raise a question or two about just who can get in on this.. If the three largest supermarkets — Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys buy a maximum it would leave 120 for others. But other ground rules may apply. The story suggests the government wants the food store outlets to be “fairly spread out to different companies” across Ontario. This addresses geographic issues but seems to leave the players undefined. The story is being credited to writer Martin Regg Cohn He says the Beer Store will now be required to pay an annual “franchise fee” of as much as $100 million and forced to open more shelf space to Ontario craft brewers.
