The Real Canadian Superstore on Walker Rd. in Windsor is among the first 58 stores in Ontario to sell beer and the only grocery store west of London to get a licence.
Manager of the Walker Rd. location John Carvalho tells BlackburnNews.com the atmosphere on the first day of beer sales at the grocery store has been electric.
"It's been absolutely amazing," he says. "I've probably had 25 customers come up to me already saying 'This is long overdue.'"
Carvalho says the Windsor location currently has 31 different lines of beer and is hoping to expand to between 200 and 250. He's been a big supporter of getting beer on grocery store shelves in Ontario.
"I love beer. Our goal is to [stock] 50% craft breweries [for sale]; the uniqueness, the quality of these products — it's amazing," says Carvalho. "And with our proximity to the US market, customers have been asking for this for the longest time."
Carvalho adds there aren't any concerns in making beer more accessible in Ontario.
"The cashiers that will be selling it, they've all been Smart Serve trained so there's no concerns that way. We're definitely going to be monitoring it, we're going to stay close to it every day of the week," says Carvalho. "It's an added benefit for the residents of Ontario. It's just all pluses to it, I don't see any downsides to it."
Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Finance Charles Sousa officially announced the new 13 independent and 45 large grocery stores now authorized to sell beer in the province. Wynne's government has promised to allow up to 450 grocery stores across Ontario to sell beer over the coming years.
Real Canadian Superstore in Windsor starts selling 6-packs of beer December 15, 2015. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)