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Another 11 Beer Store locations set to close because of ‘changes in the retail market’
Another 11 Beer Store locations will close their doors in September, the company has announced, as it continues to steadily shutter its storefronts facing competition from grocery, convenience and big box stores.
The latest round of store closures will affect places like Brampton, Barrie and Wawa, Ont., which will stop operating on Sept. 28, a news release confirmed.
A statement from The Beer Store, which has accompanied each of its store closure announcements, said it was a “difficult decision,” which came as a result of “changes in the retail market in Ontario.”
It’s coming up on a year since the Ford government allowed grocery, convenience and big box stores to start selling alcohol.
In order to make that possible, the province had to break an exclusivity agreement with The Beer Store, setting aside $225 million for the company.
Under the agreement signed between the two, the Beer Store must keep at least 300 locations open until the end of this year. After that, it can close as many stores as it chooses.
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The Beer Store itself will not officially confirm how many stores it has closed, nor will it say whether any stores will be left open when its agreement with the government expires. The company is owned by Molson, Labatt and Sleeman.
Calculations by Global News based on public announcements and figures from the union representing workers at The Beer Store show the latest raft of closures will take the total to more than 90 since the changes to how alcohol is sold in Ontario were announced.
The stores set to close on Sept. 28 are:
- Bala, 3025 Hwy. #169, Bala, ON, P0C 1A0
- Brampton, 10585 Bramalea Rd., Bldg. D., Brampton, ON, L6R 0C1
- Clinton, 30 Mill St., Clinton, ON, N0M 1L0
- Morrisburg, 111 Main St., Morrisburg, ON, K0C 1X0
- Norwich, 49 Stover St. S., Norwich, ON, N0J 1P0
- Red Lake, 35 Birks Dr., Red Lake, ON, P0V 2M0
- Rodney, 167 Queen St., PO Box 224, Rodney, ON, N0L 2C0
- Sharbot Lake, 24585 Hwy. #7, PO Box 10, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H 2P0
- South Porcupine, 4145 Harold Ave, South Porcupine, ON, P0N 1H0
- Wawa, 156 Mission Rd., Wawa, ON, P0S 1K0
- Wingham, 482 Josephine St., Wingham, ON, N0G 2W0
Announcing the closure, the Beer Store added a reminder for people to continue to use its stores to recycle empties.
More than 1.6 billion alcohol containers were processed at its locations annually.
All grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to accept the return of empties and refund customer deposits starting on Jan. 1, 2026, as part of provincial regulations, the Beer Store said.
— with files The Canadian Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Ontario’s police watchdog says it has found that an Ontario Provincial Police officer did not commit a criminal offence when they fired a less-lethal firearm at a Gravenhurst man.
The Special Investigations Unit says the incident happened around 10:40 p.m. on April 4 in Severn Township.
Police were called to a residential neighbourhood after multiple homeowners reported a man setting fire to several homes and structures.
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According to the SIU, one homeowner reported that the suspect was threatening residents in the area with a knife and appeared to be intoxicated.
Police say the suspect had been temporarily residing at a second home before the owner asked him to leave. He then reportedly set fire to that home, as well others, before police arrived.
The report says that when OPP officers arrived, the suspect was located in the yard of the second home, where attempts to negotiate his surrender were made.
The SIU says the officer, having reason to believe the man had a knife, shot him with an anti-riot weapon and a stun gun.
SIU director Joseph Martino found the use of the ARWEN made sense when the man refused to peacefully surrender and began to close the distance with the officers.
“Although believed uninjured, he had been taken to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) for examination,” the report reads.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
A limousine driver carrying 10 passengers was forced to pull over by those he was driving for suspected impairment, OPP say.
The OPP said that on July 11 just before 11 p.m., they responded to the limo pulled over on the shoulder of the QEW, Toronto-bound, near Fifty Road in Hamilton.
Police said one of the 10 passengers from the limo reported that they had forced the driver to pull to the shoulder and took away the keys to the vehicle as they believed that the driver was impaired.
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OPP said a driver of a separate vehicle had also called police to report seeing erratic driving from the limo.
The limo driver was arrested and taken to the Niagara detachment for breath tests.
No injuries were reported and there was no collision, OPP said.
A 64-year-old Toronto man was charged with operation while impaired by alcohol and drugs, having a blood alcohol content of more than 80, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
“The OPP remains committed to taking alcohol/drug-impaired drivers off our roads through enforcement and public education,” police said, adding the OPP relies on the public to report crime.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
A mandatory water restriction remains in place for an Ontario town as a heat wave persists across the province.
Residents and businesses in Bowmanville, Ont., were told by Durham Region to discontinue all non-essential indoor and outdoor water use as of Sunday.
According to the region’s website, the urgent notice remains in place as of Tuesday and is “effective immediately until further notice.”
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“The Region is currently investigating a maintenance issue with one of the three filters at the plant,” the notice read.
“The water quality will not be impacted as the remaining filters will maintain our current high standard of water treatment; however, the maintenance issue has impacted the overall capacity of the plant.”
The notice said water restrictions are necessary to maintain adequate water levels to deal with emergencies such as fire protection.
It gave examples of non-essential water use such as cleaning driveways or decks, washing cars and lawn watering.
Southern Ontario is under yet another heat wave with temperatures in the 30s C but the humidity making it feel more into the 40s. The heat wave is expected to end by Wednesday.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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