Places to buy alcohol in Pickering, Whitby, Clarington and Durham during the LCBO strike

LCBO workers have hit the picket line in an historic strike but despite a warning from the union to Ontario residents to be prepared for a ‘dry summer,’ there are options available for consumers.

There are 14 LCBO Convenience Outlets in Durham Region, with all outlets located in rural areas of the region and all licensed to sell wine, beer, cider and spirits. Selection will be limited as the stores are generally small and sell a lot more products than just booze but if you need liquor for your summer party, these are places to find them.

LCBO Convenience Outlet locations:

• Hampton General Store – 5480 Old Scugog Road, Hampton (Clarington)
• Enniskillen General Store – 7851 Old Scugog Road, Enniskillen (Clarington)
• Mister Convenience – 5351 Main Street, Orono (Clarington)
• Newtonville General Store – 4501 Highway 2, Newtonville (Clarington)
• Kendal Variety – 2 Old Mill Street, Kendal (Clarington)
• Penny’s Mini Mart – 14020 Old Scugog Road, Blackstock (Scugog)
• Nestleton Country Store – 3990 Highway 7, Nestleton (Scugog)
• Trading Post Quality Food – 1920 Whitfield Road, Port Perry (Scugog)
• Chicken Coop – 19900 Highway 12, Greenbank (Scugog)
• Esso – 290 Highway 47, Goodwood (Uxbridge)
• Manilla General Store – 17081 Simcoe Street, Manilla (Brock)
• Freshmart – 97 River Street, Sunderland (Brock)
• Esso – 2250 Highway 7 East, Greenwood (Pickering)
• Claremont General Store – 1703 Central Street, Claremont (Pickering)

Durham Region also has two distilleries that are open for all your spirits needs, including Durham Distillery (25 Mill Street) in Ajax and Brock Street Distillery Company (2250 Brock St. S.) in Whitby.

As well, the LCBO is still fulfilling online orders to restaurants and bars so that option is also still available.

For alcohol that isn’t spirits-related, breweries, cideries, wineries and private wine retailers like Wine Rack are unaffected by the strike and The Beer Store is of course still open.

Talks between the LCBO, a Crown agency, and the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union broke down late last week and about 9,000 workers went on strike after the stroke of midnight Friday.

The Ontario expansion of booze in grocery stores and corners stores – and most recently the Conservative government’s move to allow the sale of pre-mixed drinks in those stores – are considered major sticking points in the dispute.

Location of LCBO Convenience Outlets (and two craft distilleries in gold) in Durham Region