LCBO and delivery apps work together to get your business back on track

LCBO is back on the food delivery service’s menu, but this time with a less bitter aftertaste.

Two years after restaurants and bottle shops painstakingly scraped coal by partnering with Skip the Dishes during the peak of COVID lockdowns, the government-run liquor chain began offering home deliveries from food delivery services including Skip. Decided to open store aisles to merchants: Dishes, Uber Eats, and other major delivery companies licensed by the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission.

“To further support customer choice and convenience, we have launched a limited-time pilot program for all eligible on-demand delivery service providers in the Ontario market,” said a spokesperson for the Ontario Liquor Control Board. issued a statement via email.

Businesses wishing to participate in the program must, in addition to obtaining a delivery license from AGCO, have 250,000 active customer accounts in Ontario, contract with at least 1,000 restaurants, bars or stores, and Must be able to deliver “timely” in the state. At least 10 cities and towns in Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, London, Barry and Hamilton.

Companies that have reached an agreement with the LCBO will be allowed to use the Crown Corporation’s official logo and will be able to receive product suggestions, the spokesperson said. LCBO staff will not be involved. LCBO will never receive more than the amount a customer would pay if they purchased the liquor directly.

“These are not commercial partnerships and LCBO is not involved in order fulfillment,” a spokesperson said.

Skip the Dishes is so far the only company to reach a formal agreement with Crown Corporation under the pilot program, but other mobile phone app-driven services, including Uber Eats, allow couriers to shop at LCBO stores. doing. There is little the LCBO can do about a shipper purchasing goods in its stores without a formal agreement, he said.

“Many providers have provided this service without a formal agreement or engagement with the LCBO,” said the spokesperson.

For example, Uber Eats recently showed a “sponsored” listing for a “local liquor store” with an address associated with an LCBO store. The company’s couriers go to stores, purchase items with Uber-provided payment cards or their own money, and refund the purchase price.

Uber spokesperson Keerthana Rang said the company is not going to be shy about not calling LCBO stores LCBO.

“Until Uber Eats joins the program, we will not be able to use the LCBO trademark, which is why the store is listed as a ‘local liquor store,’” Rang said in an email.

Delivering alcohol was a natural next step for the company, Rang said.

One of the most vocal critics of the LCBO’s 2020 partnership with Skip the Dishes being terminated has softened his stance, saying the world has changed in the meantime.

“Look, the timing was really, really bad last time. It was the only outlet we had, so the place was desperately trying to sell all their inventory online. When everyone’s struggling.” I didn’t think what LCBO was doing was classy,” Lobby of Royal Cinema.

“Now things are different, and this is really no different than Dial a Bottle,” Morana says. “I don’t think many people order alcohol from restaurants online. If they order pizza, they might decide to buy a bottle of wine.

If there’s one thing Morana would like to change, it’s a common problem for all restaurant owners: the cap on how much delivery services charge.

“They need pretty big chunks, so I’d love to see some kind of cap,” Morana said.

Radical Road Brewing Co. owner Julian Holland is still frustrated, but this time his anger is directed at the delivery service, not LCBO.

“I spoke with representatives of the companies I deal with and they said I was not happy. They are basically competing with their own customers. Nothing, really,” said Holland, who hopes the delivery service will reserve a percentage of its alcohol list for products made in Ontario.

share: