Montreal shoppers can now pick up a bottle of Grey Goose or Veuve Clicquot while doing their weekly grocery run, as a handful of local stores quietly opened SAQ Zones last week.
Multiple grocery chains, like IGA, Costco, and Maxi, launched dedicated liquor sections in select Montreal locations, adding spirits to the SAQ's growing list of retail partnerships across Quebec.
What is an SAQ Zone?
After launching a home-delivery pilot project last year, the SAQ kicked off a major retail expansion in January, issuing a call for proposals to deploy 92 "SAQ Zones" across the province. The concept is simple: a dedicated section inside an existing store, stocked with a curated selection of wines and spirits.
A first wave of around 40 locations has already been confirmed across chains like IGA, Maxi, Metro and Couche-Tard, as well as smaller neighbourhood spots like Proxi, Boni-Soir and Dépanneur Voisin. About 20 Couche-Tard locations are also expected to get their own zones as soon as this week.
IGA
An SAQ Zone in an IGA store in Verdun. Guillaume Rondeau | Facebook
As shared by Facebook user Guillaume Rondeau, an IGA supermarket on Rue Bannantyne in Verdun now includes an entire section to SAQ products.
Available items include Captain Morgan rum, Jameson whiskey, and Bacardi rum. The store is allowed to sell up to 112 of the SAQ's most popular bottles.
Maxi
The second Montreal location is the Maxi in Côte-des-Neiges, which also opened its SAQ Zone this week.
While we haven't seen their entire selection, a Maxi store in Sherbrooke, Quebec, gave its shoppers a glimpse of their new selection.
An SAQ section at a Maxi store. Maxi (Sherbrooke, Galt) | Facebook
Along with an array of premium wines and cases of hard seltzers are bottles of Aperol, Ungava gin, and Smirnoff vodka.
Costco
The Costco on Bridge Street opened its SAQ Zone on March 24. According to Narcity Quebec, which visited the store, the section carries around 40 products, including higher-end wines and a solid range of spirits covering gin, whisky, rum and vodka.
Prices are exactly the same as at the SAQ, since the provincial liquor board still holds the monopoly on those products. "We can't go 10 cents higher or 10 cents lower," an employee confirmed to Narcity Quebec.
SAQ products at CostcoNarcity Quebec
Your SAQ Inspire card won't be accepted at the register, but Costco Executive members will earn the standard 2% cashback on their purchases.
The Bridge location was chosen in part because it sits outside a commercial district, which is a relatively rare setup among Quebec Costco stores.
Here's a look at some of what's available:
- Veuve Clicquot (750 mL) — $89.75
- Grey Goose Vodka (750 mL) — $54.75
- Jameson (750 mL) — $42.75
- Gin Ungava (750 mL) — $39.75
- Baileys (750 mL) — $34.25
- Coureur des Bois (750 mL) — $37.00
- Aperol Spritz (750 mL) — $28.10
- Smirnoff Ice (case) — $30.00
- White Claw (case) — $33.60
All prices include taxes.
