“Bala Beer Store, gone but never forgotten. And may your bright orange lights shine forever brightly in beer heaven,” Bala, Ont., resident Kyle Vickers eulogized from the porch of the Bala Beer Store to a crowd of more than 60 onlookers on the afternoon of Sunday, September 28.
With drinks in hand, the crowd said a bittersweet farewell to one of 11 Beer Store locations that closed across Ontario that day. News of the closure was first announced by the large alcohol retailer in July via a press release where Ozzie Ahmed, the vice president of retail at The Beer Store, cited that the company is “adapting to changes in the retail market in Ontario.”
The release shared that, along with the Bala location, 10 other stores would shutter on September 28, including locations in Brampton, Clinton, Morrisburg, Norwich, Red Lake, Rodney, Sharbot Lake, South Porcupine, Wawa, and Wingham.
But as doors closed across the province, only one store was sent off with a touching funeral that included a eulogy, a Grim Reaper turning in the last sack of empties, and a ceremonial final beer purchase.
Norah Fountain, a long-time local and the executive director of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce, attended the funeral—which she prefers to call a celebration of life—to take photos and videos for the Chamber, but also to raise a can to what she describes as an iconic fixture in the Bala community.
The location, which is unique for its retro orange Beer Store sign, has been around since the 1950s and, as such, many locals have worked at the store at one time or another.
“We’ve all either had our kids work there, or we’ve worked there. You come over the hill [from Torrance], and it’s one of the first things you see in Bala after the Bala Garden Center,” says Fountain. “So, you know, obviously we’re going to miss it.”
As September 28 drew nearer, word began to spread throughout the community of the Bala Beer Store funeral, says Fountain. One digital flyer called on people to gather at the Beer Store parking lot at 3:30pm for “one final cheers for all the beers.”
With three minutes until 4:00 p.m.—the store’s official closing time—one Bala resident dressed as the Grim Reaper appeared to drop of the last bag of empties, and another local, Chris “Superfly” Davis, whom Fountain describes as a local character who enjoys a good beer, made the final purchase: a case of Miller.
As the last patrons left the store, another local whose father once worked at the Beer Store, Kyle Vickers, gave his touching speech. “The Beer Store may be gone, but its spirit lives on in every cooler cracked, in every sunburnt long weekend, and every stumbling walk home,” he bellowed to a cheering crowd. Standing next to him holding a large sign, which read “Gonna miss you!!” was Tim Ogilvie, who worked at the location as a student and whose father, Mac Ogilvie, was a former manager.
Photo by Norah Fountain
For Fountain, the day showcased what it means to be a member of the Bala community and to honour the institutions its residents rely on for work…and for beer.
“That day, on a sunny afternoon, Bala did what it does best,” says Fountain. “It honoured an iconic fixture in its community since 1950 and did it well. When we’re all together, we are like one big family here at Bala.”
With the Beer Store officially closed, empties should now be returned to the Everleigh Transfer Station in Port Carling, where proceeds from empties will go to the Port Carling Lions Club, advises Fountain.
As for the store itself, which would employ around 10 people during peak season, Fountain says it’s unknown what will happen to the building at this point, but that she hopes it’s “something as good as all the other exciting stuff happening in Bala right now.”
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