An employee answers the phone for another request for delivery at Bob's Liquor Beer and Wine Store in Medicine Hat ( Tiffany Goodwein/CHAT NEWS Today)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Long weekend a high time for cannabis and liquor sales

May 18, 2020 | 1:30 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- At Bob’s Liquor Beer and Wine Store, the phone has been ringing off the hook.

A long-weekend is normally a busy time for liquor retailers, but this weekend has been one of their busiest yet.

“This long-weekend has definitely impacted our sales compared to other long-weekends in previous years. This long-weekend our sales have gone up at least by 70 per cent,” said Jaslin Ghotra, of Bob’s Liquor Beer and Wine Store.

A major contributor to the boom can be attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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With restaurants and bars closed, the pandemic has led to a 60 per cent increase overall in their sales since March.

“I mean what else is there to do? People are just sitting at home. I mean my hobby is to bake, I don’t drink a lot but other people they have nothing better to do when the weather is nice, so might as well just enjoy a couple of drinks,” Ghotra said.

Their delivery service has grown in popularity as more and more people opt to stay home.

But the store continues to garner its share of foot traffic, especially in the late night hours.

“After midnight it gets pretty crazy there is like a line-up of people everywhere,” she said.

Across town, another business is experiencing a boom in sales of a different kind.

Dylan Schmalzbauer is the president of Hat Cannabis.

“With the Coronavirus, people seem to be stocking up on a lot more, so we’ve had pretty good sales over the last week,” Schmalzbauer said.

The rational for the jump is a seemingly similar story as liquor stores.

“Well, I think people are just sitting at home and they are bored. You can’t go out and do anything really.”

The boredom at home, has even sparked more first -time cannabis users, according to Schmalzbauer.

“It really is amazing, people have been coming in that have never tried cannabis before, and wanting to experience it in the safety of their own home I guess, and it has been really good,” he said.

Keeley Martin is a regular cannabis user. She echoes that part of the allure of cannabis is the day-to day boredom of self-quarantine, but notes the stress at home can also be a driving factor, as people look for ways to unwind.

“I have to do my sisters’ homework and stuff with her so that’s not fun. It makes the time go by a lot faster than sitting at home,” she said.

Cannabis and liquor stores in Alberta are deemed essential businesses and across Canada they have been reporting a rise in sales amid COVID-19, something Schmalzbauer is grateful for one year into business.

“We are really surprised and happy. We have been getting a lot of support from our regulars and like I said new people all the time, so it has been really nice,” he said.