Teh One Who Knocks
12-13-2021, 02:08 PM
Lauren Boothby - MSN News
https://i.imgur.com/s0b9BKq.jpg
Advocates for Alberta liquor stores worry convenience stores will create unfair competition for small, local businesses after one 7-Eleven in north Edmonton began alcohol sales this week.
The store at 14110 127 St. is the first to sell liquor to-go and for dine-in service in Canada, according to 7-Eleven. But Ivonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association, is concerned local shops won’t be able to keep up.
“We think that this is the beginning of a slippery slope where we’re going to find independents suffering because they don’t have the margins of the big stores,” she said.
“The money that you spend at a liquor store stays in the community … we think at this point in the pandemic, we should really reconsider where you buy liquor from.”
‘Loophole’
7-Eleven was approved for a Class A, minors-allowed liquor licence when food is the primary source of business, according to Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis.
Karin Campbell, a spokesperson for AGLC, said in an email the regulator works to have a balanced regulatory environment where businesses can thrive. She said 7-Eleven changed its practices by adding a restaurant and is following AGLC’s requirements, and other existing retail businesses have similar food service facilities.
The store was recently renovated to add a separated eating area with three small tables with two chairs each, and four seats at a bar along the window.
Martinez said she thinks the company is taking advantage of a loophole.
“How do small restaurants feel about the fact that 7-Eleven put (some) chairs up, three little tables, and they call themselves a restaurant?” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense to us.”
In a statement, 7-Eleven said food is a “significant part” of its business model, noting the menu includes hot chicken, wedge fries, taquitos and pizza, and its staff have both ProServe and food service training.
Alcohol is stored in locked fridges that can only be opened by an employee.
City of Edmonton spokesperson Karen Burgess said in an email the 127 Street location is the only convenience store that has applied to add a restaurant to its store in Edmonton.
Martinez said she feels it isn’t socially responsible to sell alcohol at locations like convenience stores frequented by minors.
Worker safety
Katy Ingraham, co-owner of Edmonton restaurant Fleisch Delikatessen and an industry advocate, wonders how employees will manage the added responsibilities of monitoring customers’ intoxication levels required with ProServe certification.
“That’s a lot on someone who is working in such a high-traffic situation like a 7-Eleven,” she said. “I don’t necessarily think (the change) is a bad thing, there’s just a lot of things they’ve maybe addressed internally that the public needs to know.”
Ingraham added that selling alcohol in convenience stores is common in many other countries, but she would like to see the company explain how it will keep workers safe.
7-Eleven did not answer a question about what specific safety measures it has for staff, only saying that maintaining staff and customer safety is a top priority and that it has health and safety procedures and emergency protocols in place.
https://i.imgur.com/s0b9BKq.jpg
Advocates for Alberta liquor stores worry convenience stores will create unfair competition for small, local businesses after one 7-Eleven in north Edmonton began alcohol sales this week.
The store at 14110 127 St. is the first to sell liquor to-go and for dine-in service in Canada, according to 7-Eleven. But Ivonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association, is concerned local shops won’t be able to keep up.
“We think that this is the beginning of a slippery slope where we’re going to find independents suffering because they don’t have the margins of the big stores,” she said.
“The money that you spend at a liquor store stays in the community … we think at this point in the pandemic, we should really reconsider where you buy liquor from.”
‘Loophole’
7-Eleven was approved for a Class A, minors-allowed liquor licence when food is the primary source of business, according to Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis.
Karin Campbell, a spokesperson for AGLC, said in an email the regulator works to have a balanced regulatory environment where businesses can thrive. She said 7-Eleven changed its practices by adding a restaurant and is following AGLC’s requirements, and other existing retail businesses have similar food service facilities.
The store was recently renovated to add a separated eating area with three small tables with two chairs each, and four seats at a bar along the window.
Martinez said she thinks the company is taking advantage of a loophole.
“How do small restaurants feel about the fact that 7-Eleven put (some) chairs up, three little tables, and they call themselves a restaurant?” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense to us.”
In a statement, 7-Eleven said food is a “significant part” of its business model, noting the menu includes hot chicken, wedge fries, taquitos and pizza, and its staff have both ProServe and food service training.
Alcohol is stored in locked fridges that can only be opened by an employee.
City of Edmonton spokesperson Karen Burgess said in an email the 127 Street location is the only convenience store that has applied to add a restaurant to its store in Edmonton.
Martinez said she feels it isn’t socially responsible to sell alcohol at locations like convenience stores frequented by minors.
Worker safety
Katy Ingraham, co-owner of Edmonton restaurant Fleisch Delikatessen and an industry advocate, wonders how employees will manage the added responsibilities of monitoring customers’ intoxication levels required with ProServe certification.
“That’s a lot on someone who is working in such a high-traffic situation like a 7-Eleven,” she said. “I don’t necessarily think (the change) is a bad thing, there’s just a lot of things they’ve maybe addressed internally that the public needs to know.”
Ingraham added that selling alcohol in convenience stores is common in many other countries, but she would like to see the company explain how it will keep workers safe.
7-Eleven did not answer a question about what specific safety measures it has for staff, only saying that maintaining staff and customer safety is a top priority and that it has health and safety procedures and emergency protocols in place.