‘Hey, what about us?’ corner stores ask Ford

As government touts craft beers at farmers’ markets, promise to convenience stores still in limbo

Convenience stores have a reminder for Premier Doug Ford as his government touts the sale of craft beers in farmers' markets: You promised we could sell beer and wine too.

The nudge came Friday as two of Ford’s cabinet ministers headed to rural Ontario, boasting the farmers’ market move will boost jobs in the industry and give small brewers valuable exposure to customers amid the challenges of the pandemic.

“We’re saying the more the merrier,” Anne Kothawala, president of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada, told the Star.

She noted there are 8,500 convenience stores in Ontario open long hours daily, but just over 180 farmers’ markets open occasionally — and mostly closed from late fall to spring.

“We feel the time is right for us. This a promise that the Ford government made,” Kothawala said in reference to Ford’s 2018 election campaign pledge. “We think this would be a real boon for those local beer producers. They need more points of sale.”

During the campaign, Ford said “I believe in doing what’s convenient for the people, and not what’s convenient for the government.”

The Convenience Industry Council has proposed its members sell made-inOntario beer, wine and coolers.

“Having the ability to sell our beer and seltzers in convenience stores will not only help us recover lost revenues from the pandemic, but allow us to continue to grow our business and create jobs,” Jason Lalonde, co-owner of Carp’s Ridge Rock Brewing near Ottawa, said in a statement.

Attorney General Doug Downey and Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson travelled to the well-known St. Jacobs farmers’ market in Woolwich on Friday to pop the cap on their craft beer policy, which quietly took effect in April and has had limited uptake.

The change allows craft brewers to catch up with makers of Ontario VQA wines and other alcoholic beverages already able to ply their trade among the fruit, vegetable, butcher and bakery stalls.

“Providing local brewers with the opportunity to join wineries, cideries and distillers in selling their products at farmers’ markets is another breakthrough,” Downey said in a joint statement with Thompson.

“Supporting local businesses has never been more important and our government is making it convenient for consumers to pair up eligible Ontario craft beer, wine, cider and spirits with all the fresh and delicious food found at farmers’ markets,” Thompson added.

Convenience stores fit closely with the government’s “growth agenda,” Kothawala said from Montreal, where corner stores known as dépanneurs have been selling beer and wine for decades and “the sky has not fallen.”

Craft brewers had been pushing for farmers’ market access since 2016, when the previous Liberal government expanded beer sales to supermarkets and let wineries into farm markets because their products were seen as more “agricultural” in nature than beer.

Craft brewers must apply to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to sell at any of the 180-plus farmers’ markets in the province.

“We are raising a glass to this important change, which has been good for local jobs, good for consumers and good for our communities,” said Scott Simmons, president of the Ontario Craft Brewers organization.

During the pandemic, the Ford government has expanded the sale of beer and wine in supermarkets, and changed laws to allow bars and restaurants to sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders, including growlers of beer from draft taps.