Ontario is now a week and a half into the LCBO strike that cut off many people's primary means of purchasing alcohol, and it appears that other retailers that offer adult beverages in Ontario are really struggling to keep up with the resulting demand.

Beer aisle at the Loblaws, lol pic.twitter.com/xYDta3s43w

— Richie Assaly (@rdassaly) July 14, 2024

Shoppers have been sharing stories and photos of frustratingly bare shelves in the beer and wine sections of their local LCBO alternative on social media in recent days, and while some major stores appear to be worryingly low on stock, others look to be almost completely out.

Specific GTA locations of Loblaws-owned stores, Metro, Walmart and other grocers with a licence to sell have been shown to have naked shelves, including the No Frills at Dundas and Lansdowne in Toronto, the Walmart at St. Clair and Runnymede, and multiple downtown Loblaws outposts.

What's going on here? Are some grocers dropping beer and wine sales, or are they just getting cleaned out from the strike?
byu/omnidot intoronto

Smaller independents, too, have been hit by waves of both locals and out-of-towners eagerly stocking up on limited supply, like the LCBO agency stores in cottage country and other rural areas.

Many stores have extended their opening hours and ramped up other operations to keep up with demand, including local breweries like Amsterdam Brewery on T.O.'s waterfront, which advertised longer retail store hours the day the strike kicked off on July 5.

Other manufacturers have provided the public with information on where to find their product, many of them encouraging online sales, like Nickelbrook Brewing Co. and Collective Arts.

There is no wine or beer at the St. Clair/Runnymede Walmart
byu/CrimsonDomina intoronto

Fortunately, most of these smaller producer-outlets seem to be doing well with the surge in sales amid the LCBO void, but the bigger grocery chains that have to order the product in are not.

A spokesperson for Wine Rack told blogTO on Monday that the wine seller has seen "a significant increase in traffic and demand over the past week," with strong sales" at locations across Ontario.

"To respond to this increased demand, the Wine Rack has enlisted more hands on deck to support around the clock and replenish inventory as needed to ensure customer needs are met in all 164 stores," they said.

"In addition, we have optimized Wine Rack's same-day delivery service available online and have ongoing promotions with our delivery partners as additional ways for consumers to find the brands they love."

Loblaws likewise said it has "lots of things on the go" to help customers, while the Retail Council of Canada, which is speaking on behalf of the grocery industry at large on the matter, said that some stores are "definitely seeing higher demand for beer and wine. However, we aren't experiencing any significant supply issues."

I went to the loblaws by my crib n I’ve never seen the beer so empty omg lool https://t.co/M4I9ddJm78

— E (@ElijahManning3) July 13, 2024

To address the demand issue, Premier Doug Ford revealed today he will be permitting hundreds of supermarkets to start selling ready-to-drink beverages as of this Thursday, July 18, two weeks earlier than planned for the larger expansion of boozy cans to additional grocery stores, corner stores and big-box stores.