Ontario overhauled its liquor laws. Here's what's worked and what should come next

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Ontario, it threw the well-established business models of the province's bars, restaurants,breweries andwineries into utter chaos.

That uncertainty led the province to overhaul many of its longstanding liquor laws, in a bid to keep those establishments many of them small and locally-owned afloat.

CBC Ottawa recently spoke to the owners of three local businesses to get their perspective on the seismic shift in the province's alcohol regime.

Here's what they say worked best and what they think still needs to happen.

Winemakers

Who:Janet and Tom Moul of Jabulani Vineyard and Winery

The big win: Home delivery

What should come next: Fairer taxes

When the province changed home delivery rules, husband-and-wife winemakersJanet and Tom Mouljumped at the opportunity.

"We were out there delivering eight days a week," said Tom, chatting on the physically-distanced patio set upat JabulaniVineyard and Winery in Ottawa's rural south end.

In December, Ontario announced it would cementachange implemented earlier in the pandemic, one that allowedalcohol producers to sell directly to people via home delivery.

That change, Janet said, has meant more than half of Jabulani'spandemic-era customershave been new ones.

"I didn't expect that during COVID," she said. "But Tom would go deliver, and someone would say, 'What's in that box my neighbour [got]?' Next thing you know, we've got an order."

If alcohol rules keep getting tweaked, the Mouls hope there will be a reassessment of the tax structure for wineries with VQA certification short for Vintners Quality Alliance versus non-VQA wineries like themselves.

• Ottawa-area vineyards say certification rules are hurting sales

VQA certification was brought in decades ago to ensure Ontario wines met a certain standard. But the Moulssay wineries in non-VQA-approved regions like eastern Ontario are taxed much more heavily, even though their cold-hardy grapes now make for wine that's just as good if not better than places like Prince Edward County.

"We've been lobbying for years for it. It would be really nice because it opens doors for us," said Janet.

Local brewery

Who: Josh McJannett of Dominion City Brewing Co.

The big win: Selling his friends' products

What should come next: Cross-bordersales

For Josh McJannett, co-founder ofDominion City Brewing Company, it's felt like "90 years' worth of legislative change" crammed into roughly 15 months.

The big one, he said, has been getting the chance to "curate" his own bottle shop.

Customers who stop by the brewery's headquarters in Ottawa's Gloucester area can now in addition to Dominion City's own offerings pick up beer, wineand ciders from small producers across the province. Manyare too small, McJannett said, to be foundon the shelves of grocery stores or the LCBO.

"In many cases, we're sharing stuff with folks that they just literally can't get anywhere else. That's great for us, that's great for our fans, and that's great for these other producers ... I think everybody's kind of winning at the moment," said McJannett.

While thosevictories make ittempting to hush any criticism, McJannett would like fewer barriers to sellingacross provincial borders.

WATCH: How the pandemic has changed the way liquor is sold in Ontario

How the pandemic has changed the way liquor is sold in Ontario

3 years ago

Duration 1:00

CBC Ottawa spoke to local business owners about how Ontarios liquor laws have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Janet and Tom Moul, Josh McJannett, and Caroline Murphy and Emma Campbell say they hope those changes are permanent.

Justtrying to stock his shop with beersfrom across the river in Gatineau, Que.,might as well be like trying to procure it from Belgium, he said.

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"We know [it's] more complicatedbecause it involves many different governments," said McJannett, who already has a footprint in western Quebec thanks to his brewery's non-alcoholic seltzers.

"But living in a country that acted like one country, where you could share what you make across provincial borders, is something that every craft brewery would love to see."

Restaurateurs whopivoted

Who: Caroline Murphy and Emma Campbell, co-ownersofCorner Peach

The big win: Alcohol to go

What should come next: No backsliding

When the pandemic obliterated in-person dining, Corner Peach co-owners Caroline Murphy and Emma Campbell had to switch gears.

They turned their Somerset Street Westrestaurant into a bottle shop-slash-caf, offering much like Dominion City alcohol products from small-scale producers, with the purchase of a pastry or some in-house bits and bites.

• Many Ontario bar, restaurant owners want takeout alcohol to stay

Now, they hope Ontario doesn't renege on its pledge that many of the rule changes introduced during the pandemic are, in fact, permanent.

If that were to happen,it could be a huge blow for the pair, who plan to resurrect their restaurant while also running the bottle shop in the former bike store next door.

"We've essentially taken over this space now," said Campbell. "I think it would be pretty devastating if they took that away from us."

"It's bad that it had to take a pandemic to [see the laws change]," added Murphy. "But I guess maybe we can just have one good thing coming out of all this."