11 More Beer Stores Are Closing in Ontario — Including Muskoka! 🍻😭

Bad news, cottage country: The Beer Store is closing more locations, and Bala is on the chopping block.

As of September 28, Ontario will say goodbye to 11 more Beer Stores, including in:

• Bala
• Brampton
• Clinton
• Morrisburg
• Norwich
• Red Lake
• Rodney
• Sharbot Lake
• South Porcupine
• Wawa
• Wingham

That’s a lot of small-town beer runs now turning into “Do we have to stop in the next town over?” conversations.

The Beer Store says you can still return your empties (all 1.6 billion of them annually!) at other nearby locations or at a return depot — and starting Jan. 1, 2026, any grocery store that sells alcohol will have to accept those clinking bags of returns and hand back your deposit. So, silver lining: less awkward backseat bottle buildup.

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But in the meantime, if Bala was your go-to beer stop on the way to the cottage? You’d better plan ahead — or be really good at convincing someone else to make the beer run.