You’ll soon be able to get your groceries — and pick up a bottle or two of wine — at a Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam.
Last Monday, Dec. 11, city council approved the Wine on Shelf application from Loblaw to convert a small part of its store at 1301 Lougheed Hwy., in Maillardville, to sell B.C. wine, as well as cider, mead and sake.
The bid, which was opposed by Coun. Teri Towner, went to public hearing on Nov. 20; however, council deferred the site-specific zoning bylaw text amendment to get more information about the company’s charitable initiatives in the Tri-Cities.
In a Nov. 27 letter to the city, Victoria Kendrew-Ascah, Loblaw’s senior manager of planning and development, wrote that the company has 740 employees in the Tri-Cities who help with local school, sports and community projects.
And, specifically this year, it has:
- provided $20,000 worth of food to 850 students at Birchland Elementary and Minnekhada Middle through its Power Full Kids program
- donated about 100,000 pounds of food to the SHARE food bank, from its two Coquitlam stores
- helped more than 30 schools in School District 43 with food, funding and goods
- assisted community groups and sports team fundraisers
- offered food to the homeless at 3030 Gordon Ave. in Coquitlam
Loblaw, which currently has liquor in 10 of its grocery stores around B.C., intends to sell alcoholic beverages in a 920 sq. ft. space in its 134,800 sq. ft. store in Maillardville.
The wine section will be open during the store hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Dr. Cheryl Young of the Fraser Health Authority, which includes the Tri-Cities, opposed the Wine on Shelf bid, saying that alcohol contributes to cancer, heart disease and stroke.
The medical health officer suggested that availability — especially at grocery stores — increases consumption.
"It’s not about prohibition. It’s not about taking away people’s choices. It’s about creating social and physical environments that allow people to be more deliberate about when and how much they drink,” she said at last month’s public hearing.
"People are already able to get it from BC Liquor [stores]."
A request for comment from Loblaw was not immediately returned.
Last year, Coquitlam city council unanimously greenlighted a Wine on Shelf application for the new Save-On-Foods store in Sunwood Square.
