We’ve been booed for our booze boo-boo in Wednesday’s front-page story about a petition in support of keeping two government liquor stores open.Contrary to what appeared in our story (Outpouring of liquor support), there is no overnment liquor store in the Schubert Centre. The two retail outlets are in the Fruit Union Plaza and the Vernon Square Mall. We’re sorry about that. We try to be as accurate as possible in our reporting – adhering to the mantra that credibility is tough to gain and easy to lose – but sometimes, despite our best efforts, errors slip through. However, since we’re on the topic of liquor stores, we don’t think that closing those two liquor stores will have a negative effect on Vernon residents. Perhaps, considering more than 5,000 people signed a petition against the closures, we may be going against the grain with this suggestion, but we anticipate that the switch to a sole Signature store in the Village Green Mall will be good for business. When news of the closures reached Vernon city council, municipal politicians complained, first that they weren’t properly informed, and second that residents living downtown would no longer be able to walk to the liquor store in the Fruit Union Plaza. Certainly it would have been nice if the city and its residents were consulted on the change. We agree that a government liquor store is owned by the taxpayers and should serve their interests. Yet we also believe they should make every effort to remain profitable and keep with the times. And in this case, opening a signature store in the Village Green Mall seems a savvy business move. That brings us to the fear that residents living near downtown will no longer have a liquor store within walking distance. In fact, they’ll have at least two – the pair of private liquor stores located on 30th Street and 29th Avenue. Such private liquor stores are popping up all over, and sometimes the best way to stay competitive in the face of a saturated market is to invest in a retail outlet that’s bigger and better. That seems to be the motivation behind the future Signature store.
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