Fritter
Active Member
Interesting you say that. I would assume that being the world's largest purchaser of beverage alcohol, that Ontario would have some of the best product selection.My only problem with the LCBO is lack of product selection
Interesting you say that. I would assume that being the world's largest purchaser of beverage alcohol, that Ontario would have some of the best product selection.My only problem with the LCBO is lack of product selection
Interesting you say that. I would assume that being the world's largest purchaser of beverage alcohol, that Ontario would have some of the best product selection.
Exactly - essentially no vermouth selection, and if you want a bottle of madeira you have to hunt for it. Also, very few fruit spirits. No poire williams, a single cheapo brand of kirsch, a single grappa at the Manulife Centre store - which is a relatively large store by LCBO standards. Once I complained about this, and I was told that product selection was the responsibility of the store manager, but if you look at their online catalogue you see that's not where the problem lies. Considering their reliance on part-time workers and this product selection problem, my guess is all they care about is their sales figures, and they couldn't be bothered with giving us access to interesting products that would take shelf space away from Bailey's and Absolut vodka.Unfortunately not the case. As someone who is enjoying the revival of the classic cocktail scene around here it can be difficult to find some of the higher quality brands to make them myself. If the LCBO can't sell enough of it, they don't stock it. Good American ryes have been historically hard to find. My biggest peeve at the moment is the sad selection of vermouths and other fortified wines.
I'd rather see 'gaps' filled than duplication
In some of these cases it's going to hurt existing LCBO business. The Longo's at 15 york, one of the locations listed above, has an LCBO almost right at the top of the escalators descending into the grocery store. I was under the impression that these licences were going to go first to areas that were under serviced by the LCBO and Beer Store. Not that I'm complaining. This is where I do most of my grocery shopping and it will make buying booze even more convenient.
My guess is that in 10-15 years it will be open to all Grocery stores
I wonder if this is just a lottery.
Same scenario with Loblaws at 60 Carlton. The Metro on Lynn Williams has an LCBO just down the street and a beer store on the other side of the parking lot.In some of these cases it's going to hurt existing LCBO business. The Longo's at 15 york, one of the locations listed above, has an LCBO almost right at the top of the escalators descending into the grocery store. I was under the impression that these licences were going to go first to areas that were under serviced by the LCBO and Beer Store. Not that I'm complaining. This is where I do most of my grocery shopping and it will make buying booze even more convenient.
TBH this is a total shit show. My neighborhood still has no alcohol in it.
Right now, the city is conducting a survey about its parkland strategy (you can fill it out online or attend public meetings about it around the city). At the same time, it is entertaining a proposal from Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, chair of the parks committee, to allow people to buy and drink beer in public parks.
So it seems an opportune time — as we enjoy the last few weeks of prime Toronto park season and reflect on our experiences of the summer — to offer a few suggestions. These are small ones — nothing so grandiose as a plan for new parks, or even new types of parks, and nothing so expensive, either. But from my picnic blanket under the trees, they seem like they’re small things that would make a huge difference to our enjoyment of park spaces.
First off, yes, let people drink beer (or wine, or whatever) in parks. But don’t bother limiting it to some kind of rotating “beer truck” special events — as the proposal seems like it might — or otherwise bog it down in quicksand of overregulation. As my colleague at Metro, Matt Elliott, recently wrote, there’s every danger that the city will put up all kinds of fenced-off beer holding pens in corners of parks, or put so many rules and permits onto what can be drunk or sold and how that they suck all the fun out of what should be a way for people to have fun.
Golf courses can already have their licensed area include all the playing areas and the grass around the clubhouse —essentially the whole course — so people can wander around with a beer while they play. The same seems like it would work just fine in public parks.
Right now — famously at Trinity Bellwoods, but also even at my local family playground — many, many people routinely bring a bottle of wine or a tall can of IPA to the park. And it causes few problems that anyone can see. All the city has to do is change the law to conform to a relatively uncontroversial common practice.
And then, to complement this, the city can go ahead and license sales concessions — truck-based or otherwise — as a service to park users and a source of cash, too.
It was after I had kids that I realized parks serve roughly the same purpose in a community as pubs: they’re convenient local places to relax, blow off steam, celebrate, meet people, and catch up on neighbourhood news and gossip. Seems like there are relatively few reasons not to add another similarity to the list by letting people do those things over a beer if they want.
Which brings us to my second suggestion. You know what else bars have? Bar stools. Chairs. Places for people to sit down while they socialize and pass the time.
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