By Adam Frisk

Haliburton residents blasted the announced closure of the Beer Store last week after it served the community for nearly 50 years.

“It stinks,” Linda Heeps simply said. “They’re losing their job, and who’s going to take the refunds?”

The Beer Store confirmed to The Echo on November 13 that the Hops Drive location will shutter on January 11.

“I don’t understand the rationale,” Heeps said.

The Haliburton location is one of the more than 120 stores to close since Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his government’s alcohol expansion program that allows grocery stores and gas stations to sell booze.

“I think it’s a shame that that is happening,” Roger Dart said. “I’m just surprised they’re closing all these stores because the convenience stores can’t pick up; they just can’t do what the other beer stores have done over the years.”

Some residents The Echo spoke to raised concerns about what’s going to happen with the return of empties and obtaining their deposit back.

“My concern with The Beer Store closing down is where are we going to be taking our empties back to?” John Currie said. “That concerns me and, you know, the employees losing their jobs.”

As of January 1, all grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to accept the return of empties and refund customer deposits. Variety stores and gas stations that sell booze are not required to accept empties.

Local resident Rennie Bonfield suggested that all stores that sell booze should be forced to accept empties and refund deposits.

“Everybody now has a piece of their finger in the pie, but nobody’s coming forward to take responsibility for this,” he said. “Even the convenience store should also. If you’ve got a hand in this or a stake in it, then that’s what you need to do. Step up.”

Dysart et al Mayor Murray Fearrey called the closure of The Beer Store “disappointing.”

“However it had been rumoured for some time, loss of employment and convenience to customers are top of mind,” he said in an email to The Echo last week. “Certainly customer choice will be more limited, and grocery stores will struggle with can and bottle returns.”

On November 14, UFCW Canada Local 12R24, the union that represents The Beer Store workers, slammed the closure of the Haliburton store and warned that beer prices will likely go up.

“It’s a horrible situation all around,” union president John Nock said in a telephone interview.

“We’re losing lots of jobs, and nobody is saving the jobs. They’re not hiring them in convenience stores, and they’re not hiring them in grocery stores.

“Prices are going to go up, and places to bring your empties are slowly diminishing,” he said.

As for being able to return empties to Haliburton’s only two grocery stores, it remains unclear. Brad Park of Foodland and Steve Todd of Todd’s Your Independent Grocer were both unavailable for comment last week due to some personal time away from work.

This is a developing story. The Echo will have ongoing coverage of The Beer Store closure.