Toronto Breweries, Brew Pubs, Bottle Shops

[AlbertC]

Bickford Brewing are opening at 292A Harbord Street:

Brewery that began in a home basement opening first Toronto location

A Toronto brewery that originated in its founder's basement is moving on up after announcing their first official location in the city. Currently ava…

www.blogto.com

 

[PL1]

Aviary and Longslice is for sale. Instagram post from about 8 pm Dec 6.

 

[evandyk]

That's too bad. That place was really family-friendly. Kids loved their tater tots. We used to propose it as a place to meet other people with kids and everyone was usually happy with it.

Their beer is pretty bland, though.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Aviary and Longslice is for sale. Instagram post from about 8 pm Dec 6.
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Really feeds into my suspicion that the West Don Lands was not built dense enough. Despite being nearly built out, there doesn't seem to be all that much foot traffic on the streets for local businesses when I pass by. (Though, perhaps that changes when Maple House fully leases up.)

Shame about this establishment as it was a convenient option in the area, though I guess "for sale" doesn't mean it is necessarily gone yet.

 

[AlbertC]

Really feeds into my suspicion that the West Don Lands was not built dense enough. Despite being nearly built out, there doesn't seem to be all that much foot traffic on the streets for local businesses when I pass by. (Though, perhaps that changes when Maple House fully leases up.)

Shame about this establishment as it was a convenient option in the area, though I guess "for sale" doesn't mean it is necessarily gone yet.

This is similar to how Century Park Tavern closed in my Davenport Village community. For areas of the city that are generally seen as non destinations, you'll need significant critical mass in local population to sustain certain businesses. That in combination with a business that provides consistent and excellent offerings to keep the locals repeating, and to attract enough people from outside the community to give it a try.

 

[Towered]

This could turn out to be a good thing if a far better micro brewer jumps at the chance to expand into downtown. Longslice is mediocre.

 

[christiesplits]

Interesting development south of the border.

NYT: Has the Craft Beer Industry’s Keg Finally Kicked?​

But after an extended period of breakneck growth, the number of breweries declined this year, with 335 craft breweries opening and 399 closing, according to the Brewers Association.

This string of closures is symptomatic of an overall decline in beer drinking as the industry has steadily lost market share to spirits, flavored malt beverages, hard seltzers and other alcoholic drinks.

Has the Craft Beer Industry’s Keg Finally Kicked?

After decades of meteoric success, this year marked the first time since 2005 that more breweries closed than opened.

www.nytimes.com

 

[AlbertC]

Commentary from the owners at Blood Brothers Brewing on the impact of Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores:

Beer companies struggling under Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores

Earlier this year, the provincial government announced its commitment to expanding Ontario's alcohol marketplace. The phased expansion began in Augus…

www.blogto.com

"The state of our business prior to the expansion of alcohol was a steady growth pattern year over year. The pandemic had our online sales breaking records, but the transition from online to in-person shopping had traded places," the brewery said in a statement to blogTO.

"We were very skeptical of the benefits for small craft brewers. It is very apparent that foreign macro brewers are the ones benefiting from this expansion. One of our largest streams of revenue (our bottle shop) is now up for competition with every corner store in our area and, even though we would gladly sell these corner stores our products, they are not interested in selling craft beer."

The business added that the provincial expansion has negatively affected their sales.

"Most breweries we speak to are experiencing the same decline in sales. It's a bit concerning to see our government not support small businesses," they stated.

"We pay the highest taxes for alcohol in the country making it extremely difficult to compete with large macro breweries. Due to this, you see much less craft beer consumption in Ontario compared to other provinces in the country."

Also from Left Field Brewery:

"Like most other Ontario craft brewers, business has become extremely challenging post-pandemic. We have come through a difficult few years, but the biggest threat to the future of craft breweries in Ontario is that we pay the highest craft beer tax rates in all of Canada," Murphy told blogTO.

"Our rates are eight times higher than Alberta breweries and have risen three times higher compared to the large foreign-owned breweries, and over the last decade, have increased at three times the rate of the beer taxes paid by the foreign-owned breweries. This has been a long-standing issue, but the recently announced retail expansion has made lower craft beer taxes critical in deciding the future of the industry," she added.

"The chance to get on more store shelves is a great opportunity, but the reality is that doing that means investing in more people, trucks and equipment."

Murphy also stressed that the province's promise of providing more choice for consumers is only achievable if the government lowers taxes for small breweries.

"The new convenience/grocery stores, coupled with the regulation to ensure 20 per cent of shelf space is dedicated to locally-owned craft breweries, has the potential to provide a lot more choice for consumers and help craft breweries like ours grow. But that won't happen unless the province takes steps to ensure that craft brewers have the chance to succeed in these new sales channels," she said.

"One month into the expansion, one thing is very clear — that unless government lowers craft beer taxes immediately — the new, expanded retail system will fail to actually deliver on the promise of real choice for beer drinkers."

Murphy said that while Left Field Brewery has not seen a direct impact on customers visiting their beer stores, the business still recognizes that the market is changing and is taking steps to prepare for the future.

"The struggle is faced by nearly all small, Ontario craft brewers right now and that's why we're working together in an attempt to advocate for a tax system that is fair for craft breweries — one that gives us the ability to grow our brewery to compete in the new marketplace," she told blogTO.

"Lower beer taxes will create thousands of jobs at local craft breweries across the province and will mean more choice for beer drinkers at convenience and grocery store shelves."

 

[gabe]

Commentary from the owners at Blood Brothers Brewing on the impact of Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores:

Beer companies struggling under Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores

Earlier this year, the provincial government announced its commitment to expanding Ontario's alcohol marketplace. The phased expansion began in Augus…

www.blogto.com

Also from Left Field Brewery:

While craft brewers struggle to stay afloat. The Beer Store cartel has added more shelf space for 60 packs of corporate swill like Budweiser, I guess to compete with Costco since they can sell 60 packs

 

[christiesplits]

Commentary from the owners at Blood Brothers Brewing on the impact of Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores:

Beer companies struggling under Ontario's expansion of sales to corner stores

Earlier this year, the provincial government announced its commitment to expanding Ontario's alcohol marketplace. The phased expansion began in Augus…

www.blogto.com

Also from Left Field Brewery:

This has been one of the strongest arguments for maintaining the LCBO. They locate Ontario wines in the most high profile location in the store, despite foreign wines having higher overall sales.