What time does the LCBO close? It's the question everyone Googles at exactly the wrong moment — bottle running low, phone in hand, no idea whether the doors are still open. So here's the whole picture in one place: regular LCBO hours, Beer Store hours, Sunday hours, the full list of 2026 holiday closures, and — for the nights the answer is "closed" — exactly where to get beer, wine, and spirits after the shelves go dark across Niagara and Hamilton.
One thing to say up front: hours vary by store, and the LCBO adjusts them every year. Treat the times below as the reliable pattern, and confirm your specific location on the LCBO store locator before you count on it — especially around a holiday.
What time does the LCBO close on a normal day?
Across most of Ontario, standard LCBO hours land in a predictable band:
- Monday to Saturday: most stores open around 9–10 AM and close at 9 PM. Busier urban and flagship locations run later — 10 PM, and a handful of downtown stores to 11 PM.
- Sunday: the day that catches people out. Most LCBO stores close at 6 PM on Sundays, opening around 11 AM. A small number of downtown Toronto locations have extended Sunday hours to 8 or 9 PM, but 6 PM is the number to plan around everywhere else.
So the honest answer to "what time does the LCBO close" is: 9 PM most nights, 6 PM on Sundays — earlier than a lot of people assume, and hours before the night actually winds down.
The Beer Store closes even earlier
If you're relying on The Beer Store, build in less time, not more. Beer Store hours are typically:
- Monday to Saturday: roughly 10 AM to 9 or 10 PM, though many locations shut at 9 PM.
- Sunday: shorter again — often 11 AM to 6 PM, matching the LCBO's early Sunday close.
In practice, The Beer Store usually closes at or before the LCBO, not after it. If your plan for a late refill is the Beer Store, it's almost certainly the first door to lock for the night.
The catch nobody plans for
Here's the trap. Last call at the bar isn't the deadline for buying alcohol — the store closed two or three hours earlier, while you were still at dinner and not thinking about a refill. By the time a room realizes it's a couple of bottles short, every shop that closed at 9 or 10 PM is already gone for the night, and Sunday's 6 PM close is long past.
That gap — from when retail closes to when you actually want another bottle — is the entire problem this guide exists to solve. It's also exactly the window after-hours alcohol delivery was built for.
"But corner stores sell beer now" — until 11 PM
Fair point, and worth clearing up, because it changed the math. Ontario now lets licensed convenience and grocery stores sell beer, wine, cider, and coolers — thousands of new shelves, gas-station fridges included. On paper, that looks like the late-night problem solved itself.
It didn't, for two reasons:
- They still stop selling at 11 PM. The same rules that put beer in corner stores also cap when they can sell it. The clerk pulls alcohol off the till at 11 PM — so the window stretched by an hour or two, and the back half of the night is still uncovered. There are no spirits on those shelves either: no vodka, no whisky, no tequila, no rum.
- The selection is thin and warm. A convenience cooler might have a few domestic singles and one warm white. A specific bottle, a cold case for eight people, or anything past beer-and-cooler basics was never going to be there.
So the practical rule for when you can buy alcohol in Ontario is: LCBO to 9 PM (6 PM Sundays), Beer Store the same or earlier, corner and grocery stores to 11 PM — and nowhere sells spirits over the counter after the LCBO closes.
LCBO holiday hours in Ontario (2026)
Statutory holidays are where people get burned most, because the pattern flips: on many stat holidays the LCBO is closed entirely, and when a holiday falls on a Monday, the Saturday and Sunday before it become the only retail windows for the whole long weekend. Here's the 2026 LCBO holiday hours rundown — again, confirm your store, since the LCBO opens select locations on some of these:
- New Year's Day — Thu, Jan 1: Closed.
- Family Day — Mon, Feb 16: Closed at every location province-wide.
- Good Friday — Fri, Apr 3: Closed.
- Easter Sunday — Apr 5: Closed.
- Victoria Day — Mon, May 18: Most stores closed, with a few hundred select locations open 10 AM–6 PM. Check the locator.
- Canada Day — Wed, Jul 1: Closed.
- Civic Holiday — Mon, Aug 3: Most stores closed; some open on reduced hours. Around 96 select Beer Store locations open ~11 AM–6 PM.
- Labour Day — Mon, Sep 7: Closed (some LCBO Convenience Outlets in permitted areas keep regular hours). Select Beer Stores open ~11 AM–6 PM.
- Thanksgiving — Mon, Oct 12: Closed on the Monday. Stores keep regular hours on the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend.
- Remembrance Day — Wed, Nov 11: Open, regular hours (not a retail-closure holiday for the LCBO).
- Christmas Eve — Thu, Dec 24: Open but closing early, most locations around 6 PM.
- Christmas Day — Fri, Dec 25: Closed.
- Boxing Day — Sat, Dec 26: Open, regular hours.
- New Year's Eve — Thu, Dec 31: Open but closing early — plan for a mid-evening cutoff, not a late one.
The through-line: if the holiday lands on a Monday, buy Saturday or plan on delivery Monday night. The stat-holiday Monday is almost always a closed door.
Is the LCBO open right now? The 10-second version
- Weekday evening after 9 PM? LCBO closed. Corner store until 11 PM (beer and wine only).
- Sunday after 6 PM? LCBO and Beer Store closed. Corner store until 11 PM.
- Any time after 11 PM? Everything that sells alcohol over the counter is closed.
- A stat holiday? Assume closed and check the locator — the exceptions are narrow.
In every one of those cases, the shelf isn't actually your only option.
When every store is closed: after-hours delivery
Once the LCBO, the Beer Store, and the corner stores have all shut, one option is still open, still has range, and doesn't put you in the car: after-hours alcohol delivery. A bottle from a real menu, brought to your door, ID checked, paid on delivery.
That's what we do, every night, year-round, across the Niagara Region and Hamilton — usually in under 60 minutes:
- Hamilton and the mountain — downtown, James Street North, Hess Village, Westdale, and the Ancaster and Dundas suburbs. See Hamilton coverage.
- Niagara Falls — Fallsview hotels, Clifton Hill, and the north-end neighbourhoods. See Niagara Falls coverage.
- St. Catharines, Burlington, Stoney Creek, and Welland — full primary-zone service. Start from the coverage map if you're not sure you're in range.
- The Queensway — Stonegate, Mimico, and the south-Etobicoke waterfront, the GTA-West edge before Toronto proper.
Because it's a real warehouse and menu, you get what a corner cooler can't offer: cold beer by the case, chilled wine, and the full spirits shelf — the beer, wine, vodka, whiskey, and tequila menus are what's actually in stock tonight. If it's on the menu, it's in the building.
Is late-night delivery legal in Ontario?
Yes — when it's an AGCO-licensed retailer with Smart Serve certified drivers. Ontario is a 19+ province, ID is checked at the door on every order, and a bottle is never left with a third party or a visibly intoxicated recipient. That's the framework we operate inside. We break down exactly how the model became legal and reliable in 24 Hour Alcohol Delivery in Ontario: How It Works, and the city-specific version of this closing-time problem in Where to Get Alcohol After the LCBO Closes in Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
FAQ — LCBO and Beer Store hours in Ontario
What time does the LCBO close on weekdays? Most locations close at 9 PM Monday to Saturday, with busier urban and flagship stores open to 10 PM and a few downtown to 11 PM. Confirm your store, since hours vary.
Is the LCBO open on Sundays in Ontario? Yes, but with short hours — most stores run about 11 AM to 6 PM. A handful of downtown Toronto locations stay open to 8 or 9 PM; almost everywhere else closes at 6.
What time does The Beer Store close? Typically 9 to 10 PM on weekdays and around 6 PM on Sundays — usually the same as or earlier than the LCBO, not later.
Is the LCBO open on holidays? On most statutory holidays it's closed — New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Christmas Day, and (on the Monday) Labour Day and Thanksgiving. It opens select stores on a few, closes early on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and stays open regular hours on Remembrance Day and Boxing Day. Always check the store locator on a holiday.
What time do corner stores stop selling alcohol in Ontario? Licensed convenience and grocery stores can sell beer, wine, cider, and coolers until 11 PM — no spirits, and the selection is limited to what fits a cooler.
Can I buy alcohol after the LCBO closes? Not spirits, over the counter. Corner and grocery stores sell beer and wine until 11 PM; after that, after-hours delivery is the option that's still open — beer, wine, and the full spirits shelf to your door.
How fast is after-hours delivery? Under 60 minutes across our primary zone in the Niagara Region and Hamilton, every night of the year.
When the shelves close, the night doesn't have to
The LCBO closes at 9 PM most nights and 6 PM on Sundays, the Beer Store the same or earlier, and the corner store change moved the line to 11 PM — not past midnight. On a stat holiday, the door is usually locked all day. After that, you've got one option that's actually open, carries a real selection, and keeps you out of the driver's seat.
See our full coverage map or call 416-627-7846. We're live every night, year-round.
