Running around Ontario regulations

It might seem strange to refer to an international retail behemoth as “the little guy.” But that’s exactly what 7-Eleven is in Ontario. While the Texas headquartered, Japanese owned convenience store chain has more than 71,000 stores around the globe, just a handful of them — 62, at last count — are in Ontario.

That just might be one of the reasons why the relative underdog recently applied for in-store beer and wine consumption areas at its Ontario stores. Because who wouldn’t love to spend a date night out in a cramped store surrounded by bags of chips and greasy hot dogs on metal rollers? It’s the first place you’re going to have dinner once COVID restrictions ease, right?

If trying to get a leg up on the much bigger competition by having a less-than-glamorous dining and drinking area seems ridiculous, that’s because it is. It seems far more likely that this is an attempt to do an end-run around current Ontario alcohol regulations. Convenience stores, including 7Eleven, aren’t allowed to sell alcohol on-site. Restaurants, however, can. Restaurants can also offer alcohol for delivery and takeout, a now-permanent rule change made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If 7-Eleven can get a licence for an on-site alcohol consumption area (otherwise known as a “bar”), it’s not too much of a stretch to see it arguing that it is now a restaurant, and thus eligible for a delivery licence.

That would be a much bigger payoff than a handful of customers for its, er, dining room.