As the clock ticks down to implementing changes to B.C. liquor sales, that will include grocery stores starting in 2015, the future for some private liquor store owners remains unclear.
One of them is Richmond's Glenn Jensen, who runs Legend's at Terra Nova Liquor Store.
Jensen said he has yet to receive any offers to purchase his licence or to run a liquor outlet within another grocery store location following the government's recent announcement of the changes.
One of the most likely ones to come calling is Save-On-Foods, which operates in the same mall where Jensen has run his business for the past 12 years.
"If they did give me a good offer, sure I'd be interested," Jensen said.
"But we have about 4,000-square-feet here, and we're considered a relatively small liquor store. And I can't see a grocery store like Save-On-Foods dedicating that much space inside their operation just to liquor."
That doubt arises from the 16 per cent margin private liquor stores have when buying stock from the government liquor distributor.
Jensen said that, despite the 16 per cent discount, it still makes it hard for private stores, with significant overhead costs, to make a profit.
"I'm sure Save-On-Foods makes more than 16 per cent selling bananas and cereal, so that will make locating a liquor store inside their stores difficult from a financial perspective," Jensen said.
As for what may happen to the government-owned liquor stores and the well-paying union jobs within them if they also shift premises, it's too early to say, said Darryl Walker, president of the BCGEU, which represents a variety of government workers, including the 2,500 in government liquor stores.
"We're not sure what it would look like when you transfer the licences around," said Walker, adding the union does have a guarantee that 185 government-run liquor stores would remain open over the next five years, as part of the union's collective agreement.
"In order to move a store, it would take moving that particular licence, which in some cases may move it into a store within a store that is already unionized," Walker said.
"So, there is some question about how that would work, whether we'd set up a separate store.
"It's like an idea has been thrown out there without specifics," Walker added.
"The knot has to be tied in this thing to get an idea of what it looks like."
There are 197 government liquor stores in B.C. where employees' wages range from $20 to $22 an hour.
