Return of the drivethru

[screw2000]

From thestar.com this morning:

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Apr. 18, 2005. 01:00 AM

24 bottles and 6 cans? Pull up to the 2nd window

LONDON—If drive-throughs work for coffee and doughnuts, then why not for that other great Canadian staple — beer?

A drive-through lane — the only one in Ontario — is being added to the Beer Store in London as part of a test marketing project.

The new lane will operate much like a fast-food outlet. Customers will see a "menu" board of beers and order from a speaker box.

They will drive to a window to pay for the beer and then pull up to a door, where Beer Store staff will place the beer in the trunk.

"People have other choices. We want to give people reasons to choose beer," said Scott Simmons, vice-president of marketing and business development.

Experimental lanes were installed at the outlet and a handful of others 15 years ago, but they were dropped after a few years because of lack of interest.

But fast food drive-throughs have soared in popularity in recent years, so it seemed like a good time for the Beer Store to try the concept again, Simmons said.

The new drive-through lane should be open for the Victoria Day weekend.

CANADIAN PRESS

[Bobbyok]

We've had those here for a while. One quote in the article caught my eye, though:

They will drive to a window to pay for the beer and then pull up to a door, where Beer Store staff will place the beer in the trunk.

There was a case a few months ago where a guy in a pickup truck was stopped and had a case of beer and a bottle of wine behind his seat. The cop fined him because there's an antiquated law in NS saying that the driver of a vehicle is can not have access to any alcohol being transported, ie, it can't be within reach. The cop even made him dump out the alcohol. He fought it in part by videotaping NSLC employees at drive throughs putting purchases in peoples' vehicles, not in the trunk, and by doing so, really "aiding and abetting" the crime he was charged with. It didn't work for him, but shortly thereafter the justice minister instructed the RCMP not to charge people under that same law and that the law would be changed ASAP. I wonder if that case is what prompted the "placing of beer in the trunk".

[burgermeister]

...
There was a case a few months ago where a guy in a pickup truck was stopped and had a case of beer and a bottle of wine behind his seat. The cop fined him because there's an antiquated law in NS saying that the driver of a vehicle is can not have access to any alcohol being transported, ie, it can't be within reach. ....

Same laws exist in Ontario. Alcohol containers are not to be transported in the passenger compartment of a vehicle. They have to be out of reach in the trunk. Not sure what the ruling would be for SUVs, Vans, stationwagons etc. I guess having the beer case in the cargo area would be considered "out of reach".

[JerCraigs]

I frequently have beer in the back seat just because its a pain in the butt to put it in my trunk, especially in the winter when it explodes when I forget. My defense in court if ever charged will be that the law is discriminatory and that for a man of my size, in such a small car, even the trunk is reachable.

[DukeofYork = Richard]

This seems ridiculous with beer and wine, because in most cases it is fairly easy to tell whether the seal has been broken. Why does it matter whether you can reach a corked bottle of wine? Aren't a number of states happy with the 'open container' regulations?

[S. St. Jeb]

Well, this is rather coincidental. I just stumbled across this old thread, and last Friday I went through Woodstock and saw a Beer Store with a drive-through. Can't say I knew there were any drive-through Beer Stores in Ontario.

[sofakingdrunk]

Well, this is rather coincidental. I just stumbled across this old thread, and last Friday I went through Woodstock and saw a Beer Store with a drive-through. Can't say I knew there were any drive-through Beer Stores in Ontario.

There's In in Cambridge as well. Never had the pleasure of using it though....

[MatttthewGeorge]

I used the one in North Waterloo to get 4 bottles of Badlands Brewing, cause I felt like being a dick. They weren’t impressed, lol