While B.C.'s new liquor laws may seem like a boon to many consumers - happy hour deals and wine sold in grocery stores - it's also spelling the end of some aspects of the industry.
One casualty of the new regulations is Mud Bay Wines in Tsawwassen. After 12 years in
business, the store is closing at the end of the month.
It was one of 20 B.C. VQAcertified wine stores in the province and had a loyal local customer base. However, the owners sold the rights to its licence, which is controlled by the B.C. Wine Institute, to a large grocery store chain.
Of the 22 licences in the province, two were already inactive, said store manager Kim Briscoe, and three other stores in the province have also sold the right to their licences.
Briscoe, who has been with the store since the beginning, said the change in government liquor store hours has had the biggest impact on business.
On April 1, B.C. liquor stores introduced new hours that have seen stores open longer during the week and on Saturdays, as well as opening on Sundays and holidays.
"Sales are definitely down," Briscoe said, adding the store was having a good year but noticed a marked difference after April 1. On Good Friday, the first holiday after the new hours were introduced, sales were down 40 per cent over the previous year.
The store announced last month that it would be closing its doors as of Sept. 30. "People are very upset," Briscoe said.
"Our customers have become our friends," she said. "We know about their lives, their kids, their travels...
It's a part of the community being lost."
Long-time customer Dawn Van Zant said the loss will be felt in the community.
"It is much different entering the Mud Bay Wine store than the local liquor store," she said. "Kim knows us and knows what we like - we know her personally, we share stories and there is a community relationship... Small business is the heart of the economy and the heart of the community. We do not build friendships with chains."
Under the new regulations, the province will not issue any more retail wine licences until 2022, closing the doors on the chance for someone else to step in and take over the space.
"Small wineries will be impacted by these changes and the resulting pricing changes so the only real winners will be the big wineries... and the grocery chains," she said.
"Yes, we may get cheaper wine as a result but the selection will be forced upon us instead of someone like Kim finding a small boutique winery off the road knowing how some of her customers will just love it," Van Zant said. "Wine is a personal thing, it can't be treated like canned peas."
