Booze to be available in BC grocery stores this spring
Posted October 10, 2014 9:21 am.
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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You’ll be able to buy booze in grocery stores beginning this spring.
The provincial government has released details of the roll-out of one of the most anticipated changes to liquor laws, though no exact date has been announced.
Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Policy Reform John Yap says they decided on this model after hearing feedback from British Columbians. “Shoppers told us they wanted to be able to grab a bottle of wine along with their evening groceries on their way home from work – and this framework fits the bill.”
“We’re going to go with bigger than convenience stores — so, not the corner stores — [and] smaller than… big-box stores,” says Attorney General Suzanne Anton. “What people would think of as a traditional grocery store, that’s where we will be permitting… a liquor store within the grocery store.”
She’s reminding you the model will not apply to big-box or convenience stores.
“What people would think of as a traditional grocery store, that’s where we will be permitting a store within a store — a liquor store within the grocery store. These changes, we’re announcing them now because people need to know to get their business affairs arranged accordingly,” explains Anton.
Eligible stores will have to have 75 per cent of sales come from food products and be at least 10,000 square feet in size.
This is the latest in a number of changes to BC’s dated liquor laws, including new rules for Happy Hour and the sale of beer, wine, and spirits and local farmers’ markets.
