Through stressful times like the COVID-19 pandemic, some people have resorted to panic buying.
However, when it comes to liquor and cannabis, store owners in Lethbridge say they aren’t seeing any of it.
“We’re going to do home deliveries for orders over 50 bucks, the Wooden Shoe next door is also doing home deliveries,” said Kyle Baines, the owner of the Andrew Hilton Wine and Spirits store.
“We’re going to do the absolute best we can to provide services responsibly and a certain point we might just have to close temporarily,” he said.
When it comes to the retail side of things, Baines says in-store purchases have increased.
Unfortunately, when it comes to wholesale, it’s not business as usual.
“We did about 70 bars and restaurants all across southern Alberta out to the Crowsnestpass and even down to Waterton, and basically overnight that just disappeared,” Baines said.
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“We went from having 70 big wholesale accounts to having none,” he said.
When it comes to the cannabis business, one local store says they’re doing pretty well overall.
“Definitely today, we’ve had insane rushes. The thing is people might come in a couple of times a week, but instead, they’re trying to limit their outings as much as possible,” said Riley Kascak, a supervisor at the Twenty Four Karats Cannabis store.
“They might only come in once or twice a week instead. They’re going to be buying their full limit, so they can stock up,” Kascak said.
He says in two weeks’ time, the store will be launching its own pick-up app, limiting the amount of time customers have to spend in the store, and sanitation efforts are in overdrive.
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“We’ve taken more cleaning precautions than we have in the past, by spraying everything down after customers have done a transaction as much as we can, spraying door handles down even on the outside of the store as they’re coming in, just to… keep that spread down as well,” said Sandra Fuentes, another supervisor at the store.
Other proactive measures include closing down half the store and doing business through an enclosed glass cubicle all day, instead of just at night in order to help limit contact.
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