Liquor store permits re-sold for less

The provincial government’s haul from the liquor store permit auction is turning out to be a bit smaller than originally thought.

In February, the province auctioned off 35 permits to run liquor stores across the province – the remains of the last SLGA stores which the government announced it would close in the fall, 2022 Speech from the Throne.

The auctions for those permits came to $45,077,800 total, but 10 of the winners backed out of the sales. According to the SLGA, they backed out for a variety of reasons, and it isn’t unusual.

The 10 permits were put up for auction for a second time earlier in June. Two of the permits were for stores in Saskatoon, and single permits were offered in Regina, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Estevan, Humboldt, Assiniboia, Moosomin and Esterhazy.

The second auction brought in $7,386,200 for the province, about $3 million less than the first go-round.

The winners will have to go through the permitting process, and will have to open a store within 18 months.