Michele Weisz –
Toronto bar and restaurant owners breathed a sigh of relief when the LCBO strike officially ended on July 22, but for Corey Wells it was just another Monday. While many establishments said they ran low on stock during the 18-day strike, Wells, co-owner and manager of Decoy Bar in Corktown, was well prepared and fully stocked after an LCBO employee who’s a customer told him about the impending strike.
Corey Wells, owner/manager, Decoy bar. Photo: Michele Weisz
Wells doesn’t normally order through the LCBO website but said he looked into it “just out of curiosity” and didn’t find it hard to navigate. “If people aren’t familiar with doing things online, I could see it being difficult.”
Peter Englezos, manager of L’avenue on Parliament, said the website might be confusing for small businesses or individuals who normally purchase in-store, but for restaurants like his that regularly purchase wholesale, ordering through the website wasn’t an issue.
Restaurants Canada’s website stated that restaurants and bars looking to order online were met with “out of stock or extremely limited availability” for many products.
But Englezos said he didn’t encounter any supply issues during the strike. “Supply was never disrupted” because the liquor board was still supplying to wholesale customers.
The only people truly affected by the strike, he said, were individuals wanting to buy from the store or businesses without a wholesale account. “It never disrupted anything in the wholesale department,” he said. Toronto restaurants could easily place their orders online without extra cost.
Michael Vassilakako, owner and manager of The Blake House, took the same route as Wells. Anticipating a possible walkout, he “loaded up” on popular summertime spirits in advance “and that got me through the strike.”
Vassilakako said his restaurant did run out of some products that he planned to pick up in-store.
The first strike in the LCBO’s history began July 5 when more than 9,000 unionized workers walked off the job. At the heart of the dispute was Premier Doug Ford’s decision to expand alcohol sales and allow pre-mixed drinks to be sold immediately in licensed grocery stores – two weeks ahead of the original plan. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) accused Ford of wanting to privatize the LCBO.
After voting to ratify a new contract, workers returned to work and all LCBO stores re-opened July 23.
Wells doesn’t anticipate any problems placing his next order. He said he’ll simply text his customer representative at the LCBO to prepare the order for him.
While glad the strike is over, Wells said he would have willingly forgone stock if ordering online would’ve weakened the workers’ bargaining leverage. “I’m very supportive of the union.”
