It’s a much needed financial hand for restaurants and the hospitality industry as the pandemic drags on.
The Government of Ontario is giving restaurants a hand when it comes to liquor costs by offering wholesale prices compared to retail.
The 20 per cent discount on wholesale liquor for these establishments will net them roughly $60 million across all restaurants, bars and other businesses in the province.
A new feature for grocery stores that sell beer, whine and ciders is that curbside pickup will be available for these items. These items are currently only allowed to be purchased in store.
All the new changes and incentives start on January 1st 2022. Full details can be viewed here.
Some of the changes coming into effect are:
- Allowing licensed grocery stores to offer curbside pickup of beer, wine and cider
- Increasing flexibility for grocers to cross-promote beer, cider and wine with non-alcohol products
- Making permanent the extension of retail sale hours to 7am to 11pm for alcohol that were put in place in March 2020 in response to COVID-19.
- Expanding sales of beverage alcohol to more than 270 new retail outlets across Ontario since 2018, including 191 LCBO Convenience Outlets and 87 grocery stores
- Permanently allowing licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order
- Making it easier for businesses to create and extend patios
- Allowing manufacturers with an on-site store to sell eligible beer, cider, wine and spirits products at farmers’ markets
- Supporting alcohol producers by creating more flexible delivery rules, including allowing eligible alcohol manufacturers to deliver their own products and charge a delivery fee
- Permitting alcohol service on docked boats with a liquor sales license
- Giving licensed restaurants and bars and retailers more flexibility in using liquor delivery services
