The Bar Towel

So one of the pandemic rule changes that I was very happy about was enabling to-go alcohol sales from bars & restaurants. Now this has brought about creative ways of bringing this to life, such as Bossanova, where friend of Bar Towel Dan Grant is involved.


Has anyone been? Any thoughts about it? I love to see folks like these basically setting up an indie retail store within the confines of the regulations. Obviously there's a margin on the beers - is that an inhibitor? Or worthwhile for the convenience? Curious to hear thoughts of the group.

Website:
https://bossanova.to

So I'll start by saying I absolutely love the new rules that have expanded access to beer, and all the shops that have opened up over the past year and a bit. I haven't been to Bossanova specifically, but these shops are an especially convenient way to try a variety of beers from breweries that I don't get out to visit. However I would say that the markup has really limited how often I've taken advantage. Beer is already creeping up in price (for understandable reasons) so the added markup makes it hard to justify paying in some cases nearly 10 bucks for a can of beer that retails for $5-6 at the brewery.

In an ideal world we could have bottle shops with similar retail price points that exist in markets with a private model, but my guess is there are some significant regulatory hurdles to this- lack of wholesale pricing, LCBO related mandates? I'm curious what it would take to get there, while still ensuring bottle shops can be profitable and thrive.

Hey, Dan here from Bossanova.

First of all, I appreciate this forum giving Bossanova some attention. Thanks Cass!

Second, I have a feeling you'll see a lot more bottle shops soon. The AGCO recently dropped the requirement to offer a 'light meal' at the bar, so even though we are a licenced establishment that serves alcohol on site, we no longer require a kitchen.

In fact, our "kitchen" was a toaster oven, mini-fridge, dishwasher and sink, but the biggest obstacle to our opening was waiting for the City's Building & Maintenance Dept to approve our space, showing it could safely support a kitchen. It's a long (ridiculous, very frustrating, expensive) story, but my point is, without requiring a kitchen and all the expense, physical space and associated licencing, a big, pricey barrier is removed to new bottle shops.

Not dedicating space to kitchen appliances, overhead vents, grease traps, and architectural renderings showing fire escapes, roof plans, parking spots, etc, makes it a hell of a lot easier to offer beer at reasonable prices.

We're generally a buck or two over what the breweries charge, and we don't accept tips. So we're actually close to the same price you'd pay at the source, but with a much broader selection. Our most expensive can is $8.00, and that's for a 473ml of Bellwoods' Baltic Porter. Little Beasts, MERIT, Chronicle, Tooth & Nail (arriving this week), etc... all under $8.00 a can. Bottles, obviously, are going to cost more, but we have a lot of exclusives.

Wholesale would be a big help, but most breweries want us to succeed, so they offer us licensee pricing. I have accounts with a couple breweries that don't offer us any kind of break, so I haven't ordered from them yet, because I don't really want to be selling cans for $10.

We can't compete with LCBO prices, so we just don't order what they stock.

Also, location is big for us. There's not an LCBO, Beer Store or brewery for more than a kilometre in any direction, so for locals we're pretty much it. We could charge more, but I don't feel good about gouging people.

And then, obviously, customer service. I can talk to you about our beer the way no LCBO employee ever will.

No Aeroplan though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks Dan for swinging by and for sharing the info. Can't wait to stop by soon!