FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2025
The Beer Store Announces Store Closures effective January 11th and January 18th, 2026
The Beer Store is making the difficult decision to close the retail stores listed below.
The Beer Store (TBS) will close the following retail stores January 11th, 2026:
Haliburton 15 Hops Dr., Haliburton, ON, K0K 1S0
Schomberg 17250 Hwy. #27, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0
Whitby 3950 Brock St. N., Whitby, ON, L1R 3E1
The Beer Store (TBS) will close the following retail store January 18th, 2026
Oshawa 150 Midtown Dr., Oshawa, ON, L1H 7L9
“The Beer Store is evolving operations to meet the changing needs of a modernized retail market. Unfortunately, this includes making the difficult decision to close retail locations. We know this is difficult news for consumers, recyclers and our employees,” said Ozzie Ahmed, VP Retail TBS.
“The Beer Store recognizes the contributions our employees make to the business and in the communities where we operate. All efforts will be made to support employees through this process in alignment with commitments and agreements.”
NEW – Empty Return Locator
The Beer Store launched a new Empty Return Locator to make it easier than ever to find a Beer Store or alternative retailer that is accepting empties. Consumers can find the locators on the Beer Store’s website. Visit www.thebeerstore.ca, in the navigation bar select ‘Returning Empties’. This menu will drop down, then select ‘Where to Return Empties’.
Empty Returns
The Beer Store encourages customers to continue returning more than the 1.6 billion alcohol containers we process annually to one of our local TBS locations or an empty return dealer located close by. The following alcohol containers purchased in Ontario can be returned to collect your deposit back: beer, wine and spirits bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, tetra packs and kegs.
All grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to accept the return of empties and refund customer deposits starting January 1, 2026. This is part of consumer retail alcohol modernization, found in the Early Implementation Agreement and provincial regulations. To help ensure that customers can still purchase beer and return empties, we encourage customers to use one of the following resources:
To find the closest Beer Store location, please visit our website at www.thebeerstore.ca/locations.
To find an alternative beer retailer, please use the Province’s website locator at: Where to buy Alcoholic Beverages.
To source the nearest Empty Return Location site, please visit The Beer Store Where to Return Empties store locator at: www.thebeerstore.ca/where-to-return-empties
To learn more about The Beer Store’s sustainability efforts and why returning empties is beneficial for your community, please see our latest Stewardship Report Delivering Circular Solutions for Ontario. Visit Stewardship Report | The Beer Store.
About The Beer Store
Owned by Ontario-based brewers and named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers 2025, the Beer Store is the largest beer retailer in Ontario. It’s logistics division has 26 points of distribution strategically located across the province to meet the needs of customers. The Beer Store proudly distributed 2.92 million hectoliters of beer to over 13,000 customers in 2024. In 2024, The Beer Store added over 5,300 new customers to its distribution network. The Beer Store is deeply committed to responsible sales and not selling to minors and people who are intoxicated. More than 2.1 million customers were challenged in 2024. It is also one of the greenest retailers in the world, annually collecting for reuse and recycling approximately 1.6 billion beverage alcohol containers, including beer, wine and spirits. The Beer Store employs 6,500 hard-working Ontarians with well-paying full and part-time jobs.
Media Contact
The Beer Store
mediainquiries@thebeerstore.ca
