Fewer than half of auctioned SLGA liquor store licences in operation

It’s been about one year since the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) began putting liquor licences on the auction block as it removed itself from retail liquor sales, but as of this week, only 16 new stores are operating.

The government announced in its 2022 Speech from the Throne that it would be closing all of its liquor stores, arguing the business wasn’t doing well and was on its way to losing money. Employees and their unions rallied against the move, but ultimately it went ahead.

Thirty-five licences were auctioned off, netting $41.8 million for the provincial government. The money was to be used for costs around winding down the stores, but anything left was expected to go into the government’s General Revenue Fund.

Of those 35 licences, 10 had to be auctioned off again later in the year after the original auction winners either backed out or didn’t meet licensing requirement, bringing in a bit less for the province.

According to the SLGA, only 16 stores are operating right now – two in Saskatoon and one each in Buffalo Narrows, Carlyle, Creighton, Fort Qu’Appelle, La Loche, La Ronge, Meadow Lake, Melfort, Nipawin, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Watrous, Weyburn and Esterhazy.

When the proponents won the auctions, they had 18 months to open the storefront, so there are several months left. The authority says the rest of the winners are still making their way through the permitting process.

The government owned 19 of the buildings that housed its liquor stores. So far, 12 of those buildings have been sold for a total of $4,761,954 – buildings in Esterhazy, Moosomin, Buffalo Narrows, Creighton, La Ronge, Watrous, Carlyle, Biggar, Assiniboia, Fort Qu’Appelle, Humboldt and Yorkton.

Two more are still for sale and others are potentially being repurposed.

SaskBuilds says a lease is being negotiated with the RCMP for the use of the building in North Battleford for a new RCMP Northern Detachment.

The former SLGA building on Idylwyld Drive North in Saskatoon is being turned into an emergency shelter and renovations are just about finished; the Crown said it’s expected to be finished and for it to start operating this spring.

The former liquor store on North Albert Street in Regina is being renovated to be turned into the new Saskatchewan Firearms Office.

Another former SLGA store in Regina, on Broad Street, is being turned into a food hub by the Regina Food Bank.

Two other locations — in downtown Prince Albert and in Meadow Lake — are being assessed to figure out if they can be repurposed.