Customers line up to buy U.S. liquor
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The return of U.S. liquor products sparked a lineup at a Brandon Liquor Mart on Wednesday — and the province said that was par for the course all over Manitoba.
“The Liquor Marts selling U.S. liquor today were very busy — all locations reported long lineups at store opening and the heavy traffic continued well into the afternoon,” a Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries spokesperson said Wednesday.
Popular U.S. brands sold out on the first day at some locations, but restocking will continue, the spokesperson said.
Roberta Rosen with the Manitoba Liquor Mart on 10th Street and Victoria Avenue helps stock American alcohol onto shelves at the retailer on Wednesday morning. In Brandon, the U.S. alcohol is only available at the Victoria Avenue location. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The province now plans to continue refilling Liquor Mart shelves until all U.S. inventory is sold out.
The government store at the corner of 10th Street and Victoria Avenue was one of a dozen locations across the province to restock U.S. products.
The commotion comes after the province pulled U.S. products earlier this year as a retaliation against tariffs imposed on Canada. Last week, the province announced it would restock only $1 million worth of products and donate the proceeds to charity.
Two Westman organizations have been selected to benefit from the program — the Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer Registry and Helping Hands Centre of Brandon — along with four other Manitoba charities.
The top sellers were bourbons, the provincial spokesperson said. California wines, and flavoured vodkas and liqueurs also saw strong sales.
The initial rollout of U.S. products included the top 100 selling items, but more brands will arrive through the week that may not have been available Wednesday. Resupply of some products will start as early as this morning.
“We encourage customers to stop by again if they didn’t find what they were looking for. Your favourite brand may still hit the shelf tomorrow and over the weekend,” the spokesperson said.
The volume of sales will not be tallied this month, she said.
“Due to the very rapid pace of sales between our public and commercial customers, we won’t have any sales figures or proceeds to report until the new year, after all costs and sales channels have been accounted for.”
The money raised through the liquor sales was originally planned to go entirely toward the selected charities — it is unclear if that is still the case now that the province has decided to sell all its U.S. products instead of just $1 million worth.
»cmcdowell@brandonsun.com