Hantsport NSLC renos nearly complete
The Hantsport liquor store is looking a little more modern thanks to an $868,000 facelift.
The upgrades have brought the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation’s small Main Street store into the 21st century.
Beverley Ware, the NSLC media relations manager, said the corporation determined the Hantsport location needed an update to improve the shopping experience for customers.
“This was a complete renovation of the store. It included replacing the floors, windows, ceilings, walls, lighting and shelves, installing new pointof-sale units, putting a new sign on the outside of the building, painting inside and out, installing a beer cooler and relocating and building a new office, the lunchroom and the bathroom to ensure the store is fully accessible,” Ware said.
The upgrade to the store, which employs five people, began in August. The interior renovation is complete, and the landlord is now in the process of replacing the roof and then new refrigeration and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units will be installed.
Jen Nunn, the store manager, is optimistic those final upgrades will be completed within a month, weatherpermitting. That will allow for refrigeration inside the new cooler room.
Ware said the NSLC conducted $1.6 million in sales at its Hantsport store during the last fiscal year, which ran April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
During that time frame, Ware said Smirnoff No. 21 vodka (1,750-ml size) and Red Tassel vodka (also 1,750-ml) were the most popular spirits. For wine, 4,000-ml bottles of Domaine D’Or White and Hochtaler were the top sellers, while Budweiser lager 36-packs and Busch Ice 15packs topped beer sales. In the ready-to-drink category, residents were picking up Strongbow dry cider (eight-pack) and Coldstream peach iced tea (six-pack).
But Hantsport wasn’t the only local site that received significant upgrades within the last year. In the fall, Windsor’s NSLC location on Cole Drive expanded to include cannabis sales.
“Customers were extremely patient throughout the noise and dust of the renovation and were as excited to see the new store as our own employees were. The same was the case with our Hantsport store,” said Ware.
Windsor’s expanded store opened on Sept. 20.
“The cannabis store in Windsor has been received very well,” said Ware.
“While the renovations were being done, our store team heard from a number of customers who said they couldn’t wait for the store to open. Christmas was an extremely busy time with both cannabis and beverage alcohol sales.”
The total sales volume for the Windsor store during the last fiscal year was $7.8 million. Officials will have a better idea of how much revenue the sale of cannabis will bring into the Windsor location after this fiscal year ends.
On the cannabis side of sales, the most popular products were dried flower, pre-rolls, and soft chews, Ware said.
On the alcoholic beverage side, the top spirits were Captain Morgan white rum and Smirnoff No. 21 vodka (both 1,750-ml bottles).
Windsor-area wine drinkers were most apt to pick up Peller Family Pinot Grigio and Hochtaler (both 4,000-ml), while 36-packs of Budweiser lager and Bud Light lager were the preferred choice for those looking for beer. In the readyto-drink category, Coldstream peach iced tea six-pack and Coldstream mega mixer 24pack topped the local sales.
When the Crown corporation began offering cannabis in October 2018, 12 NSLC stores were initially selected to carry the controlled substance from across the province.
At the time, the former West Hants council expressed concern over Windsor not being one of the selected sites. The closest areas, prior to 2022, were Sackville and New Minas, meaning about a 25-minute drive for residents.
Current West Hants Mayor Abraham Zebian said having a cannabis branch at the NSLC wasn’t something the amalgamated council lobbied for but said it’s good for the residents to have access to a local option.
“For anybody who uses that service, it’s local; it’s convenient now.”