Estevan liquor stores are seeing a bit of change as the province will no longer be buying American liquor due to the recent tariffs. That means Saskatchewan liquor retailers won't be able to buy American products from the provincial distributor, effectively keeping those from being restocked.
Southern Plains Co-op Liquor Store Manager Brittany Zahn says that she wasn't surprised at the announcement and the response has been quick.
"Within an hour of the announcement, all of the American goods were off our order portal so that was a pretty quick response for us. I don't think it's a bad thing. I think there will be some customers a little upset that they can't get certain things, but there's lots of other options. Lots of things we can get from Canada that'll hopefully keep people happy."
While there will be a couple of items that people won't see easy replacements for, as items such as bourbon and California wine don't have any immediate counterparts.
That could change as Zahn says she's hearing some rumblings about more alcohol being sourced from other provinces.
"From what I heard, we're gonna be able to open up to some of the markets that we don't usually have the opportunity to purchase from, like BC wines might be making more of an appearance in the stores now. There's always so much local for vodka, lots of options in that sense, so there will be no shortage of options for people, that's for sure."
Jeff Pierson, who owns the Ice Factory attached to the Days Inn, says he's also expecting people to have plenty of good alternatives.
"I think the biggest thing is it's just time to focus on buying Canadian products that maybe have been missing in the past. I think this is the time to make both Canada and Saskatchewan better. Saskatchewan producers, whether it's craft beer, all the distilleries we have here, the wineries we have here, think we have a cidery here in the province, it's time to buy their product."
Liquor retailers will still be able to sell any American products they have in stock.