Owen Sounds’ Mayor took the fight to keep the old LCBO location open, right to the head office of the organization in a 90 minute meeting in Toronto.
Mayor Deb Haswell says although they agreed to disagree on the need for a second store, she has a better understanding on how the Liquor Control board determines what communities warrant a second or a third LCBO outlet.
Haswell and senior staff from city hall were in Toronto on Tuesday, hoping to keep the current store open once the new much larger location near Heritage Place Shopping centre opens next spring.
However, the Mayor says they have very specific guidelines they follow, and Owen Sound simply isn’t growing fast enough.
City officials tried to get an agreement to try two stores for a year or two but the idea didn’t fly.
Haswell says at least they got a commitment from LCBO officials to keep monitoring the situation, and to consider a second outlet in a few years if growth warrants it.
Mayor Haswell says the good news is, the Scenic city is getting a huge new LCBO store this coming spring that is similar to the one in Collingwood and it will offer much greater selection.
There is no firm date for the new store to open, or for the existing store downtown to close.