The Beer Store has made its first closure announcement of 2026, confirming four more locations will be shuttered now that the retailer is not bound by the terms of its agreement with the government.
On Monday, the Beer Store confirmed it would close four more outlets in March — axing locations in Brampton, Toronto, Hamilton and London.
The closures are the first to be announced in 2026, after the expiration of an agreement between the Ford government and the alcohol stores.
In the spring of 2024, the Ford government announced it would pay the Beer Store $225 million to allow corner, convenience and big box stores to sell beer, wine and ready-to-mix drinks.
The funds were to be paid to the Beer Store in chunks on condition that it mitigated job losses and kept 300 stores open until the end of 2025.
Late last year, the government confirmed the full pot had been spent, while the Beer Store came within a handful of stores of closing the maximum number it was allowed.
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Now, with the $225 million paid, there is no cap on how many stores can close. Three closed on Jan. 11, and another was shuttered on Jan. 18.
“The retail marketplace in Ontario continues to evolve and stabilize,” the Beer Store said in a statement.
“As a business we are focused on operating a retail network that meets evolving consumer needs, providing the largest selection of beer and a world class deposit return system.”
Late last year, concerns about the future of jobs at the Beer Store were reduced slightly when grocery stores came to an agreement to pay for its stores to continue to collect empties.
The broad strokes of the agreement meant that consumers will continue to exchange empties for their deposits at Beer Store locations, with grocers footing the bill and the brewers committing to ensuring there is a point of recycling available within 10 kilometres for the vast majority of the population.
Behind-the-scenes talks between brewers and grocers — facilitated by the government — had been ongoing for months, sparked by an earlier deal the government reached with The Beer Store in order to speed up Ford’s plan of expanding alcohol sales to convenience stores and more grocery stores.
That deal involved requiring grocery stores more than five kilometres away from a Beer Store to accept empty returns and extending that obligation to all grocers selling alcohol on Jan. 1.
Many were not complying with that requirement and had warned the government they would stop selling alcohol if the program wasn’t improved, threatening Premier Doug Ford’s much-touted alcohol expansion.
The latest round of Beer Stores to close on March 22 are:
- Brampton, 11 Worthington Ave., Brampton, ON, L7A 2Y7
- Etobicoke, 1735 Kipling Ave., Etobicoke, ON, M9R 2Y8
- Hamilton, 75 Centennial Parkway N., Hamilton, ON, L8E 2P2
- London, 1727 Richmond St., London, ON, N5X 3Y2
— With files from The Canadian Press
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