What hours and conditions apply when an Ontario convenience store sells beer and wine?

In Ontario, a convenience store sells beer, wine and ready-to-drink alcohol products under a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, known as the AGCO. The AGCO says permissible hours of sale for all retail stores that may sell liquor in the province are 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday to Sunday. The licence also comes with conditions about the store itself. This page covers Ontario only. If your store is in another province, check the rules where you are.

The hours of sale

The AGCO’s page on hours for liquor sale, service and delivery says the permissible hours for all retail stores that may sell liquor in Ontario are Monday to Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. That includes in-store or curbside pickup of online orders, where permitted. The same page says a 24-hour store may sell liquor only within those permissible hours. A store that stays open overnight must therefore keep its alcohol sales inside that window. The AGCO adds that some licences may have conditions that further limit those hours.

Holidays

The AGCO says a retail store that sells liquor may be permitted to open on a holiday, within the permissible hours, depending on the laws or by-laws that apply to the business. It names the Retail Business Holidays Act and municipal retail holiday by-laws as examples. Check which of those apply to your store and your municipality before you set holiday hours.

What the store must be

The AGCO says a store may be eligible for the convenience store licence if its retail floor space is within the limit the AGCO sets for that licence, and the share of that space the AGCO requires is used for food products, not counting prepared food that may be consumed on site. It must sell a variety of the listed types of food product the AGCO requires, such as canned foods, dairy or dairy alternatives, baked goods and snack foods. It must not primarily identify to the public as a pharmacy, although a pharmacy can be located inside the store.

The AGCO says you are not eligible if the retail floor space is not fully enclosed by walls, such as kiosks, stands or stalls. You are also not eligible if you do not meet the food product requirements, or if the store is in a First Nations community that has decided not to allow alcohol retail stores.

Staying compliant after you are licensed

The AGCO says the licensee is responsible for ongoing compliance with the requirements of the licence. If the store’s layout or product mix changes, compare it against the AGCO’s eligibility list again. A buyer taking over a store should ask the seller how the store meets each condition today. The guide to buying a convenience or grocery store that sells alcohol in Ontario covers licence transfers. For the business side of a sale, see the guide to selling a gas station in Canada.