Skip the Dishes and LCBO receive setbacks from small businesses after Toronto delivery partnership announcement

In late March, when the Ontario government allowed bars and restaurants to add alcohol to food take-and-deliver and delivery orders, it became the lifeblood of Z Bar & Grill.

Suzette Henry, owner of a Jamaican pub near Keele St. and Eglington Avenue W., said, “We do not need to close.

However, in the midst of another lockdown, Henry said the LCBO “took air from my vessels” to provide on-demand alcohol delivery between the Crown Corporation and the food delivery service Skip the Dishes.

The partnership, announced Friday, begins with 15 LCBO locations in Toronto, where independent restaurant owners say they can compete with LCBO prices from those struggling. They say the partnership will fly ahead of the film, which premiered Doug Ford himself during the epidemic as a small business owners winner.

“Dougford should never allow this, it’s already an abuse to block restaurants and bars,” said Jen Aug, who owns several restaurants in Toronto, including Rum Corner and Bar Vendetta. Ogg noted that bars and restaurants “do not receive wholesale prices” from the LCBO.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday, spokeswoman Emily Hogween said: “The LCBO is governed by the Board of Directors of the Arms Length and the decision is made independently of the Cabinet or Government. The government continues to encourage everyone to support small and local businesses during this difficult time. ”

Containing LCBO Sales growth was seen During the epidemic, a request for comment was not responded to. In a statement on the LCBO’s website announcing the partnership, LCBO’s President and CEO George Solius said, “We hope this will be a great success during the holiday season and look forward to further expanding our services throughout the province in the new year. ”

Skip The Dishes spokeswoman Melania Fataros-Richardson said the company’s couriers were already delivering liquor from restaurants and vendors in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.

“In these provinces, we have not seen any evidence that alcohol sales to our restaurant partners were adversely affected when liquor vendors launched on the network,” Fattoros-Richardson said. “Adding a bottle of wine or a beer with your wings to your dinner order has historically been a different case than when ordering directly from the liquor dealer. The epidemic has boosted high alcohol delivery sales to restaurants across the country, and they continue to grow as we enter the busy holiday season. ”

Thomas Morana, owner of a bottle shop and brewery bar near Yong Street and Wellesley Street, which serves take-alcohol and Italian cuisine, said the partnership would keep his business competitive.

“We are only able to sell our food and wine and beer stocks through delivery applications and now you LCBO have come there and discounted us because their prices are so much lower than ours,” he said. “We can provide products you may not find at LCBO.”

Indoor dining and patios in Toronto have been shut down to curb rising COVID cases.

The beer store launched a 10-week home delivery pilot project on November 30 with Skip the Dish. However, in an email on Saturday, beer store president Ted Moroz said his company had decided to pause the event with “current public health restrictions on our restaurant and bar partners” who are facing “unprecedented challenges during the epidemic.” ”

With files from Cheyenne Bholla