Plans to close Atikokan’s only Beer Store location will have a big impact, says the town’s mayor.
“Well, it’s on the list to be closed. I’m not saying right now that it’s going to close, because we are working tooth and nail to keep this going,” said Rob Ferguson, Mayor of Atikokan.
The Beer Store announced Monday that it will close 10 of its Ontario retail stores on Aug. 24, including the one in Atikokan.
“There’s not another beer store within 150 kilometers of Atikokan,” he said. “We’ve got a small corner store that has a small cooler with some beer in it, but that’s all they have. They don’t have the capacity to handle the volume of what the beer store would sell on a July long weekend. They’d be cleaned out in a couple of hours.”
Ferguson says he has reached out to Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland about the closure.
“He’s looking into it. And again, it’s a beer store. It’s a private corporation, so they can’t be really mandated or anything. But maybe we can bring attention that we are 150 kilometers away from the closest beer store, and there’s no return-recycling system,” he said.
Although Ferguson holds a sliver of optimism, he says if the beer retail store closes, that will “fall into the lap” of the premier of Ontario.
“Every week, they’re on TV touting beer in corner stores and grocery stores. People put two and two together and come up with ‘this is the doing of the province,’ whether that’s right or not, but that’s the perception that the local folks will have,” he said.
Ferguson speculated that the local Beer Store opened in the 1950s and called it a “staple” in the community.
“We’re trying to grow our community, and we’ve got some good things going on. There’s some mining activity. There’s the Waasigan power line and we’re looking at other energy projects,” said Ferguson, adding, when people read that The Beer Store is closing, there’s a perception that forms about the community.
Atikokan Economic Development Corporation executive director Garry McKinnon said the impact on the community is hard to measure. Still, the message to locals and visitors when any corporate brand closes and abandons a community is very negative.
“It is my understanding that there will not be a location for the return of bottles and cans in Atikokan,” McKinnon said. “Recycling in this community is fairly successful, so most of the cans and bottles will likely end up in the recycling bags that are collected weekly here. Interestingly, if there is no local option for the return of bottles and cans from The Beer Store and the LCBO, will the deposit on those vessels still be charged, and if so, how is that fair to consumers in Atikokan?”
Ferguson added: “We don’t have the capacity to recycle glass here in Atikokan, so those glass bottles are going to go in the landfill.”
Meanwhile, The Beer Store advises that all grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to return empties starting Jan. 1, 2026 as part of consumer retail alcohol modernization.
In Monday’s announcement, Ozzie Ahmed, The Beer Store’s vice president of retail said the company is modernizing operations.
“Closing a retail store is never an easy decision,” said Ahmed. “The Beer Store recognizes the contributions our employees make to the business. All efforts will be made to support employees through this process in alignment with commitments and agreements.”
