The Beer Store to close location in Old East Village

The Beer Store is closing several locations across the province, including its only location in the Old East Village – at 514 Adelaide Street N.

The area which is home to many people experiencing homelessness will likely be particularly hard hit by the closure, as many unhoused people return empties to The Beer Store as a source of income.

Empty wine, spirits and beer containers are currently collected at The Beer Store locations, which are part of the Ontario Deposit Return Program.

A refund of $0.10 or $0.20 is given for every bottle or can that is brought back.

“There’s a lot of people, believe it or not, that subsidize their income by collecting empty beer and alcohol containers that are in blue boxes,” said John Nock, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (CFCW). “$100, or a couple hundred dollars worth, once a week.”

A downtown location on Picadilly Street also closed down earlier this year, leaving the next closest beer store locations at 1080 Adelaide, or on Wharncille Road, or Hamilton Road.

Officials with the beer store say impacted employees have been offered transfers or severance packages.

The Beer Store says the closures are the result of a changing retail landscape.

“Like any retailer in today’s evolving marketplace for beverage alcohol, we are continually evaluating our business operations to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our customers and adapting to change,” Ozzie Ahmed, the company’s vice president of retail, explained in an email. “The Beer Store is closely watching our retail stores and making decisions on what makes the most sense for how we operate as a business. Any decision we make considers our commitment to serving our customers.”

- with files from CTV News Kitchener’s Jennifer K. Baker