Growing pains aside, the new Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse in Delta will massively improve the liquor distribution system in the province.
That’s according to Jeff Guignard, the Executive Director of the Alliance of Beverage Licenses, who says the size of the old facility is to blame for the delays over the years.
“And I do commend the government and the executive team at the wholesale centre for trying to improve the situation,” he said. “I think things will get better.”
“At the end of the day, if you’re wondering why some popular products are not on the shelves, it’s because of these persistent delivery issues.”
The new warehouse is about two and a half times larger than the old Vancouver facility.
“The old facility is dark, it’s dingy, it’s extremely packed, it’s messy,” he added. “The new one is bright, and spacious and has brand new technologies that are going to help improve a lot of things.”
“From what I’ve seen, the workers are generally fairly happy working in that place because they’re finally able to move products.”
The province recently announced an independent review of the liquor distribution process.
The LDB says they’ve temporarily stopped transferring customers to the Delta facility until early next year to ensure that customer service is maintained during the holiday season.