" ' ' " * 3 & 4 r # 6 4 * / & 4 4
GROCERY BEER SALES PLAN GETS MIXED REVIEWS
APRÈS A&W, AU TOUR DE MCDONALD’S D’ANNONCER SA VENUE À EMBRUN
pour l’obtention des permis, l’ouverture se fera au cours de la prochaine année », peut-on y lire. L’emplacement choisi se situe sur un terrain vague appartenant à la Coopéra- tive agricole, devant la LCBO et voisin de la station d’essence appartenant également à la Coopérative. L’entreprise coopérative est également propriétaire des magasins Indépendant et Rona qui sont situés dans le même secteur. Notre journal a tenté en vain d’obtenir de plus amples détails de la part de la Coopérative agricole. Mais au moment de mettre notre journal sous presse, on ne nous avait toujours pas rappelé.
ANNIE LAFORTUNE annie.lafortune@eap.on.ca
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Après l’annonce de l’installation éventuelle d’un restaurant A&W sur le chemin St-Guillaume, à Embrun, voilà qu’on nous annonce l’arrivée d’une autre importante franchise à Embrun. En effet, la Coopérative agricole d’Em- brun a annoncé sur sa page Facebook, la semaine dernière qu’un restaurant McDonald’s verra le jour en 2020. « Nous sommes confiants qu’en tra- vaillant de concert avec la municipalité
The operators of the Valu-Mart in Alfred had once looked into the idea of adding beer sales to their trade. But co-owner Mélanie Carrière said the present building lacks floor space and would need expansion first. Also, she noted, the Valu-Mart is a sub-franchisee of the Loblaws grocery chain and would need permission from the corporate head office to add beer sales to its operation, should provincial regulations allow in future. Corner store trade Small convenience stores are the main ones that qualify for the limited number of general beer sale licences available under current provincial regulations, and all those licences are now filled. Bernard Marcil, owner of the Dépanneur O’Coin in Clarence Creek, would love to see the situation change. “I think that it’s great for small busi- nesses,” said Marcil. “It would bring a lot of traffic in my store.” He has tried for three years to get the right to sell beer in his store, but has not been able to obtain permission from the province. He is often asked if he sells beer. “At one point I had a petition going for a month,” he explained. “I managed to get over 900 signatures. People around here can bring their bottles here and I buy them. But as soon as they realize that I don’t sell beer, they go to Rockland or Bourget. While they’re there, they buy their cigarettes too.” The Foodland regional grocery stores in Russell and Vankleek Hill are both licensed to sell beer under provincial regulations. But it’s not certain whether or not they would have competition from smaller convenience stores. “If we were able to sell beer,” said Kumar Patel, owner/operator of the Pronto conve- nience grocery in the village of Russell, “they (customers) would come here.” “Lots of work,” said Jacques Lalande, of Dépanneur Lalande in Vankleek Hill, “and the profit is very small.” Lalande used to own and operate a dépanneur in Québec and was able to sell beer. He expressed little enthusiasm now for having the same option for his Ontario store.
Premier Doug Ford’s plan to allow gro- cery stores in Ontario to sell beer is getting a mixed reaction among store owners in Prescott-Russell. The Ford government recently introdu- ced legislation to break the current 10-year contract allowing The Beer Store almost exclusive rights to beer sales in Ontario. For now all grocery store owners are waiting to see what happens with the legal battle between the two sides. Currently, a limited number of grocery stores in Ontario are allowed to sell beer, if their situation meets certain conditions. “We would have to reorganize,” said Daniel Asselin, owner/operator of Asselin Independent Grocer in Hawkesbury. “We’d need to make space for it and get extra coolers. But, yes, I’d be interested.” Asselin noted that Québec grocery stores are allowed to stock and sell beer, and that is a big source of competition for his store and others along the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. “We’re right on the border,” he said, regarding Québec grocery beer sales. “They have it and that hurts us. Especially with campers in the summer time.” Giant Tiger Ottawa-based Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. Is one of the largest Canadian “Big Box” grocery and general merchandise store chains, with four of its franchise outlets located in Rockland, Embrun, Casselman, and Hawkesbury. The company is open to adding beer sales to its grocery operation, but GT marketing liaison Alison Scarlett sta- ted in an email that the company is waiting to see how the situation between the Ford government and The Beer Store finishes. “At Giant Tiger we are always looking at ways to better serve our customers and communities,” stated Scarlett. “Today the criteria set forth by the government to sell beer is not something that Giant Tiger cur- rently qualifies for. Should the government criteria change for selling beer and level the playing field to mass grocery retailers, Giant Tiger would happily review the opportunity.”
After A&W, local residents learned, last week, that a McDonald’s will open its doors in 2020. The Coopérative agricole d’Embrun made the announcement on its Facebook page. McDonald’s will be located on a vacant lot owned by the Coopérative agricole d’Embrun, in front of the LCBO, and next to the gas station, itself owned by the Coop. —photo Annie Lafortune
Bourget ON • À seulement 15 minutes d’Orléans • Communauté bilingue • Tranquillité de la campagne • Venez voir notre grand choix de lots (aucun fossé) PRÊT À CONSTRUIRE
15
613-487-2676 • 613-769-0851
G220442
With notes from Francis Racine
Publié le jeudi par • Published on Thursday by: La Compagnie d’édition André Paquette Inc. Imprimé par • Printed by: Imprimerie Prescott et Russell, Hawkesbury, ON # convention : 0040012398
BERTRAND CASTONGUAY Président • President bertrand@eap.on.ca FRANÇOIS LEGAULT Directeur • Director francois.legault@eap.on.ca GILLES NORMAND Dir. Production et Distribution Mgr. gilles.normand@eap.on.ca MARCO BLAIS, CARL LALONDE Infographie et prépresse Layout & Prepress pub@eap.on.ca
C.P. / P.O. Box, 1170, Embrun, ON K0A 1W0 Tel.: 613-446-6456
Nous invitons les lecteurs à nous faire parvenir leurs lettres qui ne doivent pas dépasser 300 mots. Nous nous réservons le droit de les modifier ou de refuser de les publier. L’expéditeur doit inclure son nom, prénom, adresse et numéro de téléphone. Readers are invited to send us their letters that must not exceed 300 words. We reserve the right tomodify themor to refuse to publish them. The writer must include their names, address and telephone number.
Publicité • Advertising: pubreflet.news@eap.on.ca
Bon nombre d’épiceries de l’Ontario, comme Tigre Géant, et de petits dépanneurs aimeraient pouvoir vendre de la bière. Mais cela devra attendre puisque la province et The Beer Store sont engagés dans une bataille juridique, au sujet de la tentative du gouvernement ontarien de briser la garantie contractuelle de 10 ans que The Beer Store a sur la vente de bière en Ontario. —photo fournie
Toute reproduction du contenu est interdite à moins d’autorisation écrite au préalable. No content may be reproduced without prior written permission. Avis : En cas d’erreur ou d’omission, la responsabilité du journal ne dépasse, en aucun temps, le montant de l’espace de l’erreur en cause. Attention: In case of error or omission, in no way will the publisher be liable for more than the amount charged for space concerned.
Nouvelles • News: nouvelles@eap.on.ca
DIANE MAISONNEUVE Classées • Classified diane.maisonneuve@eap.on.ca
www.editionap.ca
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog