Wednesday May 19, 2021 | SOOKE, BC
by Molly Pearce for Island Social Trends | Editor Mary P Brooke
The Castle Liquor Store in Sooke has seen business significantly increase since the COVID pandemic began in the spring of 2020.
The family-run business has swiftly adapted to the COVID-19 way of life that requires many new public health safety measures in retail stores. As a family-run business, Castle Liquor Store has been able to respond quickly and efficiently to these new measures (such as physical distancing) without needing to await complicated instructions from a large corporate office.
Store co-owner Lisa Taylor says that the changes have had mostly positive effects. Sales have been up, and the Castle Liquor Store team is feeling better than ever.
Taylor says that her staff have been generally healthier this past year and that none of them have been sick—not even with a cold.
Health measures protect the staff and customers. The benefits of the measures have prompted the business to opt to deciding that even after the pandemic they will keep their front counter’s plexiglass barrier, routine sanitizing, and even mask-wearing — for the ongoing safety of their staff and customers.
The bustling business at Castle Liquor Store is also due in part to all the new online resources the store has embraced. They now offer online ordering for in-store pickup, and use a courier service to make their wines, spirits, and other favourites available for local delivery. Taylor says that these services will stay in place even after pandemic restrictions are lifted.
There are educational and drink-mixing tutorials on the Castle Liquor Store website.
