When Does Your Liquor Store Need an Alberta Liquor Consultant?

While you probably need an Alberta liquor license consultant to help you with your Class D retail liquor license application, there are many other times a liquor consultant’s services are important to your liquor store. Too often, a liquor retailer ends its relationship with a liquor consultant once their liquor license is approved. Some business owners may not understand that good consultants do more than provide liquor license application services.

Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors is full-service liquor consultant that provides many services beyond application support to Alberta liquor licensees. Unlike some consultants, our relationship with liquor store owners begins before license approval is achieved and often lasts throughout the life of the business. Application approval is the first big hurdle of a retail liquor start-up, but it’s only the beginning. Opening your doors doesn’t guarantee success. Having an Alberta liquor consultant in your corner at milestones and annual touchpoints helps keep your business on track to succeed and can often help a business that has become stagnant or is struggling to reduce expenses and/or increase profit.

Our Alberta liquor consultants work with liquor stores at many points in the business’s life, including the following:

During the Start-up Phase

Start-ups need support long before they open their doors for business. Thrive Advisors provides many relevant services, including:

• Alberta liquor license support (Class D and other license classes)
• Vetting the purchase of a liquor store
• Vetting a new build location viability
• Securing municipal licenses
• Researching required initial inventory
• Store layout and display layout
• Employee acquisition and job description writing
• Writing of training manuals and policy and procedures manuals
• Compliance audits

When Renovating or Reconfiguring Your Liquor Store

An Alberta liquor consultant understands how renovations may affect your license. Too often, liquor store owners make what they consider “minor renovations” without first considering the implications on license compliance. The AGLC Licensee Handbook – Section 5.14.1 “Structural Changes” states that “The written approval of the AGLC is required before making any major structural changes to a licensed premise.”  Don’t guess what AGLC considers “major”. An experienced liquor consultant can discuss your planned renovation or reconfiguration with an AGLC representative to ensure that you don’t run afoul of Alberta liquor license inspectors and inadvertently put your license at risk.

At Year End

Year-end is both a busy time and an exciting time, because it offers opportunity for planning and growth. As the year is winding down, a liquor consultant’s perspective can help shape strategies for the coming year. How will you increase profit or reduce expenses? What do financial statements and sales data tell you about your business? A fresh, objective perspective from a consultant who understands how liquor stores succeed is vital.

Thrive  – Alberta Liquor Consultants Who Always Have Your Back

Whether you need help with an Alberta liquor license application, operational or strategic support, having a consultant on your side can ensure success. Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors takes pride in providing a range of key services that help liquor retailers prosper. We won’t drop you as a client once you have license approval, we have your back throughout the year and for the life of your business.