Licensee retail store (BC)

A buyer of a British Columbia liquor store that holds this licence buys a business that sells under a licence. The Branch’s handbook says the purpose of the licence is to sell all types of packaged liquor in a retail store for customers to take away and consume elsewhere. Apart from consumer tastings, the handbook says the licensee must not permit alcohol consumption in the store.

Transfers and the freeze

The Branch’s licence page says there is a freeze on new licensee retail stores and that the government is not accepting new applications. Under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act, the general manager may, on application, transfer a licence, and a licensee must not purport to transfer or otherwise deal in a licence before the general manager does so, though section 22 lets the proposed transferee use the licence while the section 19 determinations are pending. The general manager must not transfer a licence that would be contrary to the public interest, and section 19 lists further grounds, such as premises that do not comply.

What to check or ask

• The licence terms and conditions in the handbook, and any history of non-compliance
• Whether the store sits within a grocery store, which the handbook treats separately
• What the purchase agreement says if the general manager refuses the transfer

See can I transfer my liquor licence when I sell. The liquor agency store entry covers the related rural class.