With just two days until beer and wine flood into convenience stores across Ontario, The Beer Store is preparing for a future where it is just one of thousands of places people can grab a can or bottle on the way home.
On Thursday, 4,100-plus convenience stores will be allowed to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages in a sped-up alcohol liberalization policy pushed through by the Ford government.
As part of that deal, to ultimately deliver alcohol to as many as 8,500 new locations, the province agreed to pay The Beer Store $225 million and allow its stores to diversify what they offer.
Now that its grip as one of a few exclusive alcohol retailers is slipping, The Beer Store has announced it will transition its in-person locations to offer snacks and energy drinks, blitz the province with an advertising campaign and fortify its delivery infrastructure.
Story continues below advertisement
The Ontario-wide chain — owned by …