The NSLC in Jeddore is set to shut its doors in a week and a local restaurant owner is worried about what it means for his business.
William Gilligan owns the Old No. 7 Restaurant and Sports Bar on Highway 7, just three doors down from the liquor store in a strip mall.
He tells us, he is concerned the NSLC closing might mean a loss of customers for him to a different location.
“There is another liquor store in Porters Lake, which is about 17 minutes away. I do notice that a lot of my customers will come in for lunch, and then they’ll stop at the liquor store to get a case of beer or a bottle,” says Gilligan.
The mall where the Old No. 7 is in, has had some hardships lately with Foodland taking over Sobeys and a fire at the laundromat and cafe, so he says adding the loss of the liquor store is another hit.
“Somebody suggested to me that’s 200 cars a day that aren’t going to be there,” adds Gilligan.
He says, it also has personal implications considering driving to Porter’s Lake will take time out of his day.
“I have to ask myself, as the owner and general manager of the establishment, what’s my time worth? So, anytime that I’m away from the restaurant and not out front with my customers and my staff is detrimental,” adds Gilligan.
He says the whole trip will take about an hour and a half, as opposed to the quick stop it is now.
Community connection
The Old No. 7 opened its doors five years ago.
Gilligan says with emotion, they had a “tsunami” of customers they were not expecting, with a two hour wait.
“I was going table to table and the community…every community member would basically say, ‘I got my beer. I’m good. Just don’t go anywhere,'” says Gilligan.
Since then, they haven’t looked back.
“This community is like none other. I have my wife, and I have a successful restaurant in the middle of nowhere because the community supports it.”
The strip mall itself, he says, is tight knit.
“It’s not just losing a liquor store. I mean, it’s four walls that has booze in it. It’s our liquor store and it’s the employees in there [that] are our friends, and they’re our family,” says Gilligan.
He adds, the news of the closure appears to not be sitting well with the employees who seem beside themselves.
Union says it’s a lease issue
First Vice-President with the NSGEU Hugh Gillis says the closure is an inconvenience and had to do with the lease.
“All I know is, there’s been challenges there with the landlord and there have been for a while, but my understanding is, it’s not the business model,” says Gillis.
He adds, employees have been offered severance packages or will move to a different location.
NSLC says an agreement could not be reached
In a statement to our newsroom, the NSLC says an agreement could not be reached with the landlord and they needed to be out before July 31.
“We have been month-to-month in this location for some time. We were holding on signing on for a longer term until we had a better understanding from the landlord on future plans for the rest of the mall including a response to our continued asks for property improvements for the safety of our team members and shoppers,” says the statement.
They add that they needed a few weeks to clear out, which is why they are closing July 12.
The NSLC says there will be no job losses.
