Manitoba

Winnipeg Ikea store gets liquor licence, serves beer and wine

Winnipeg's Ikea store started serving liquor this week, although they've been licensed since October, according to the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba.

Liquor became available more than a month after store was licensed on Oct. 15

Winnipeg shoppers can now order beer or wine with their köttbullar — Swedish meatballs — at Ikea. (Mark Lennihan/The Associated Press/File)

Winnipeg's Ikea store started serving liquor this week, although they've been licensed since October, according to the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba.

Liz Stevenson of Liquor and Gaming said Ikea's licence was approved on Oct. 15, and inspectors have visited the store twice.

Ikea confirmed Friday that they have the licence and began to serve a small selection of beer and wine this week.

"[The purpose of the licence] is to offer a more complete selection of beverage choices to our customers," said Ikea spokesperson Daevid Ramey.

The Winnipeg store applied for the licence through the Liquor and Gaming Authority in March 2015.

At that time, Ikea Canada spokesperson Madelaine Löwenborg-Frick said it is common across Canada for Ikea restaurants to serve beer and wine.

"We know that, like at any other full-service restaurant in Winnipeg, some of our customers wish to have an alcoholic beverage with their meals," Löwenborg-Frick said.

Ikea joins McNally Robinson as retailers in Winnipeg serving beer and wine in their dining rooms.