LCBO shuts down location at major Toronto intersection

Thirsty residents in one Toronto neighbourhood will now have to travel a little further to get their fill of adult imbibements as a major LCBO location closes its doors.

It's been an eventful year for the LCBO, after Ontario's provincial government made good on its promise to stock beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages on the shelves of grocery and convenience stores, prompting a province-wide strike of LCBO workers, followed just months later by the major decision to remove all U.S. alcohol brands from its shelves.

Through most of the ups and downs, though, the provincially-regulated liquor board has been there for us, keeping us stocked with choice beverages that make all the other, non-alcohol-related chaos in the world a little easier to swallow.

For residents of the Eglinton West neighbourhood, however, picking up your weekend wine order just got a little more complicated, as the LCBO shutters its location at 333 Eglinton Ave. W., just off the intersection of Eglinton and Avenue.

Don't freak out, though; the LCBO confirms that this closure is an isolated incident, and that no further locations are slated to close any time soon, as was a major concern when alcohol first hit convenience stores last summer.

In other words, this is no Beer Store situation.

Instead, the LCBO tells blogTO that the closure of the 333 Eglinton West location came as a result of a natural lease expiration coming up on May 31, and the ultimate decision not to renew it.

"Similar to other retailers, we are continuously reviewing our store network as part of normal business operations," they say in an email statement.

 That said, the board also adds that, in the case of this particular location, locals needn't stray too far when it comes time to stock the bar cart: there are five other LCBO locations within 3 km of the one that closed. I'll drink to that!