CLOSURE: Beer Store location shutting down in southern Ontario

The Beer Store has announced that it will be shutting down one of its locations in southern Ontario.

The company said Tuesday that its store located at 1408 Upper James Street in Hamilton, near Stone Church Road, will be closing next month.

The last day will be Sunday, Aug. 16.

“The Beer Store is modernizing our retail network to meet the needs of a changing marketplace,” said Ozzie Ahmed, the vice president of retail at The Beer Store.

“Unfortunately, this includes making the difficult decision to close our store at 1408 Upper James Street, Hamilton.”

The announcement comes after the company actually reopened two of its locations last month that had previously shut down.

One reopened at 1089 Kingston Road in Scarborough on June 22, and another at at 3078 Don Mills Road in North York on June 29.

Those reopenings had marked a reversal of a trend of Beer Store closures that have happened throughout Ontario amid the province’s expanded alcohol marketplace.

But now with this latest announcement, customers in the Hamilton area will have one less location where they can buy beer and return empties.

“We know this is difficult news for employees, customers, and neighbours. The Beer Store recognizes the contributions our employees make to the business and to the communities where we operate,” Ahmed said.

“All efforts will be made to support employees through this process in alignment with commitments and agreements.”

The company said that alternative Beer Store locations in the Hamilton area include ones at 673 Upper James Street, 499 Mohawk Road East, and 584 Mohawk Road West.