Requirements for Grocery Stores with Offsite Winery Retail Stores

Find out if special rules for Offsite Winery Retail Stores apply to your grocery store.

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Overview

Grocery Store Licence holders may have entered into agreements with an eligible manufacturer that holds an Offsite Winery Retail Store (Offsite WRS) Licence. In these cases, special rules about the sale of wine may apply to your grocery store. 

Offsite WRS

Grocery store licensees can lease or license space at their stores allowing an Offsite WRS to be located outside of the shopping area at the grocery store. These Offsite WRS must be self-contained and operate independently from the host grocery store’s business. 

Wine Boutique

Another type of Offsite WRS is one located within the shopping area of a host grocery store. This type of store is called a Wine Boutique. In this setup, the grocery store licensee must enter into a Wine Boutique Agreement with an Offsite Winery Retail Store licensee and obtain a Wine Boutique Sales Agent endorsement on their licence. The Offsite Winery Retail Store licensee must have a corresponding Wine Boutique endorsement on their licence. The grocery store licensee acts as the Offsite Winery Retail Store’s agent to sell wine in the leased space. Wine Boutique Sales Agent endorsement holder and Wine endorsement holders have additional regulatory obligations that can be found in O. Reg 746/21 under sections 95 to 104.

If you are a grocery store who has one of the above business arrangements, please note there are additional regulatory requirements which include lease protections for an Offsite WRS, along with restrictions on product sales and issuing grocery store licences in certain circumstances.

Follow the questions below and expand the relevant options to determine which conditions apply to your store. For additional information, please see section 86 of Ontario Regulation 746/21 of the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA).

Did you have grocery store licence (to sell alcohol) before June 17, 2024?

What Type?

Did you lease or license space to an Offsite Winery Retail Store at your store location on or after May 1, 2016?

You can sell wine, beer, cider and ready-to-drink products at your grocery store if your beer and wine grocery licence was issued before April 1, 2024. Any existing lease or licensing agreements with an Offsite WRS cannot be unilaterally terminated before January 1, 2037. For more information, see s.86(1) and s.86(2) of O. Reg. 746/21.

You can sell wine, beer, cider and ready-to-drink products, under your Grocery Store Licence. There are no additional requirements as you do not have an existing relationship with an Offsite WRS.

Did you lease or license space to an Offsite Winery Retail Store at your store location on or after May 1, 2016?

What kind of agreement did you have?

You may sell beer, cider and ready-to-drink beverages at your grocery store; however, you cannot sell wine. The sale of wine must only be through the Offsite WRS. Additionally, you cannot unilaterally terminate the lease or licence agreement with the Offsite WRS until January 1, 2037. For more information, see s.86(1) and 86(2) of O. Reg 746/21.

You can continue selling wine inside your grocery store through the Wine Boutique endorsement arrangement. Please note, you may sell beer, cider and ready-to-drink products under your Grocery Store Licence. However, all wine must be sold through the Wine Boutique. Additionally, you cannot unilaterally terminate the lease or licence agreement with the Offsite WRS until January 1, 2037. For more information, see s.86(1) and s 86(2) of O. Reg 746/21.

Note: the annual fee for your Grocery Store Licence will be waived until December 31, 2036.

You can sell beer, cider and ready-to-drink products under your Grocery Store Licence; however, you cannot sell wine at your store if on April 1, 2024, you did not lease or license space at your store for an Offsite WRS. You may choose to enter into an agreement with an Offsite WRS to re-locate an Offsite WRS into your grocery store's shopping area as a Wine Boutique, and the wine can only be sold through the Wine Boutique until January 1, 2036. For more information, see s.86(4) of O. Reg 746/21.

On April 1, 2024, did you lease or license space at your grocery store for an Offsite Winery Retail Store at your location?

You are not eligible to be issued a Grocery Store Licence until January 1, 2036 unless: you enter into a Wine Boutique agreement; the Offsite WRS has notified the AGCO Registrar that they don't wish the lease or licence to continue; or the lease or licence is terminated as a result of default by the offsite winery retail store. For more information, see s.86(3) of O. Reg 746/21.
There are no additional requirements related to Offsite WRS for you. You can apply for a Grocery Store Licence to sell wine, beer, cider and ready-to-drink products at your store.

Visit the AGCO's standards, acts and regulations page to find more information on how to sell wine.

If you're an existing or prospective grocery store licensee and are interested in partnering with a winery to move its Offsite Winery Retail Store inside the shopping area of your grocery store (to become a Wine Boutique as defined in Ontario Regulation 746/21), please contact the AGCO's Licensing and Registration branch at liquor.retail@agco.ca for more information.