Grocery Store Premises in Ontario: Refrigeration, Loading, Food Rules, Licences and the Lease

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 18 October 2026 · 10 min read — what a grocery or ethnic supermarket unit needs for refrigeration, hydro and loading, the food premises rules, city licences, beer and wine sales, and the lease clauses that protect you.

Looking for grocery store space in Toronto or the GTA? Tell me what you need and I will send you units that fit, with the zoning and the lease checked before you commit.

What a grocery unit must have before you sign

Most grocery deals I see fall apart over the building, not the rent. A grocery store, and especially an independent or ethnic supermarket with a butcher counter, hot food and walk-in coolers, uses a unit very differently from a clothing store. Before you fall in love with the frontage, walk the space with these questions:

• Electrical service. Walk-in coolers, freezers, open multi-deck cases and ice machines run around the clock. Ask the landlord for the size of the existing electrical service to the unit and whether the building can supply more.
• Somewhere for the condensers. Remote condensing units usually sit on the roof or on a pad behind the building. You need written rights to put them there and run lines to them.
• Drains and water. Produce misting, meat and fish prep, mop sinks and display case condensate all need drainage. Check where the floor drains are and how deep the slab is if trenching is needed.
• A real receiving door. A grocery store lives on deliveries. A rear door at grade, or a dock, beats pallets coming through the front entrance.
• Back-of-house space. Dry storage, a cooler and freezer room, a cardboard and waste area, a staff washroom and a utensil-washing sink take up more floor than most first-time grocers expect.
• Parking and visibility. Grocery customers carry heavy bags. A plaza with parking close to the door matters more for this use than for most.

If you are coming from a smaller format, my convenience store premises guide covers the lighter version of the same checklist.

The food premises rules that shape your layout

Every grocery store in Ontario is a food premise under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and must meet O. Reg. 493/17 (Food Premises). The rules are written as outcomes, not floor plans, but they decide where your sinks, coolers and storage go.

If you plan a hot food counter, a prepared-meals case or a sit-down area, part of the store becomes a food service premise, and the regulation then requires at least one food handler or supervisor with food handler training on site during every hour that part operates (s. 32). A meat counter that cuts and grinds is its own set of issues; see my butcher shop premises guide.

Licences and inspections before you open

Public health first. Section 16(2) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act requires anyone who intends to operate a food premise to give notice to the medical officer of health for the area. In Toronto, Toronto Public Health asks you to submit your plans before construction starts, showing refrigerators, sinks, handwash basins, food storage, waste storage and staff washrooms, and inspects the premises before opening.

Toronto business licence. A grocery store falls under Toronto’s Take-Out or Retail Food Establishment licence. The City lists a total of $395.20 for a new licence and $261.04 to renew. Zoning approval is required for most new applications, and the application needs an Occupancy Declaration signed by both you and the landlord. If you add seating and serve food for eating on site, ask the City whether you also need an Eating or Drinking Establishment licence.

Peel Region. Brampton licenses grocery stores as Class E under its Fixed Food Premises licence: a $209 fee, licences expire every January 31, proof of at least $2,000,000 commercial general liability insurance, zoning review, and a Peel Public Health inspection. Brampton can issue a 90-day conditional licence, but you need a Food Check Peel sign to get the full licence. Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham and the other municipalities each run their own licensing, so check before you budget.

Importing yourself. Many independent and ethnic grocers bring in their own containers. The CFIA says that anyone importing manufactured food into Canada needs a Safe Food for Canadians licence. Buying from a licensed importer or distributor avoids that, but if you plan to import, sort out the licence before the first shipment arrives.

Selling beer, wine and ready-to-drink alcohol

Ontario grocery and convenience stores can now sell beer, wine (including cider) and ready-to-drink products under an AGCO licence. The AGCO’s eligibility criteria depend on floor area, so they affect which unit you pick:

• Convenience store licence: retail floor space of 4,000 square feet or less, at least half of it used for food (not counting prepared food for eating on site), and at least five of the listed food types. $500 a year.
• Grocery store licence: more than 4,000 square feet of retail floor space, with at least 10,000 square feet of food space or half the floor space devoted to food, and every listed food type. $3,250 a year.
• Retail floor space means enclosed indoor space where goods are offered to the public. Storage rooms and washrooms come out of the calculation.
• The AGCO says to allow about 6 to 8 weeks to get access to the LCBO’s sales portal and receive product.
• Since January 1, 2026, all licensed grocery stores must accept empty alcohol containers and refund deposits. Plan space for returns.
• Staff who sell liquor need a liquor retail training program reviewed by the AGCO.

Measure the unit yourself before you sign. A unit marketed as 4,200 square feet may measure under 4,000 square feet of retail floor space once the back of house is taken out, which changes which licence you can get.

Zoning: confirm the use before you sign

In Toronto’s Zoning By-law 569-2013, a grocery store is a “retail store”, meaning premises in which goods or commodities are sold. Most commercial and commercial-residential zones permit retail, but not every unit in every plaza is zoned the same, and older plazas often carry site-specific exceptions. Three things to check:

• The exact zone and any exception for the property. Ask for a zoning review or a zoning certificate as part of your conditional period.
• Prepared food and seating. A hot table with seating moves part of the store toward an eating establishment, which Toronto zoning treats as a separate use with its own conditions.
• Industrial and employment units. Cheaper warehouse-style space is tempting for a large-format ethnic grocer, but retail permissions in employment zones are limited. Read my industrial space guide before you look at one.

The permitted-use clause in your lease must match what zoning allows and what you actually plan to sell; my use clause guide explains how to write it.

Refrigeration, hydro and the building

Refrigeration is the biggest fit-out cost in a grocery store and the biggest source of fights with landlords. Plan it before you sign, not after.

• Hydro capacity. Get your refrigeration contractor to estimate your load, then compare it with the existing service. An upgrade can mean a new transformer, a new meter and months of waiting on the utility.
• Roof rights. Condensers add weight and penetrations to a roof the landlord is responsible for. Expect the landlord to want structural sign-off, their own roofer for penetrations, and restoration when you leave.
• Heat and noise. Condensers and rooftop units make noise. If the plaza backs onto houses, ask whether there have been complaints.
• Large systems. Ontario’s Operating Engineers regulation, O. Reg. 219/01, covers refrigeration plants, with registration and operator requirements tied to compressor power ratings. Most single-unit grocers use packaged equipment, but if you are planning a large built-up system, ask your contractor whether it triggers TSSA requirements.
• Building permit. New walk-ins, plumbing, ceilings and electrical work usually need a permit and drawings, and public health reviews the layout as well.

Loading, deliveries and waste

A grocery store may take several deliveries a day, from refrigerated trucks to small vans. In Toronto, Chapter 220 of the zoning by-law sets loading space requirements for buildings with retail stores based on gross floor area: none under 500 square metres, one Type “B” space from 500 to 1,999 square metres, and two Type “B” from 2,000 to 4,999 square metres. Those rules apply to the building as a whole, so in an existing plaza what matters most is practical:

• Can a refrigerated truck reach your rear door without blocking a fire route or another tenant?
• Are deliveries restricted to certain hours by the landlord or a site plan agreement?
• Where do cardboard, organics and meat waste go, and who pays for collection?
• Is there room to stage pallets indoors when a delivery arrives early?

The lease clauses that matter for a grocery store

1. Permitted use. Write it broadly: “retail grocery store including fresh produce, meat and fish, bakery, prepared foods, and the sale of beer, wine and ready-to-drink alcohol as permitted by law.” A narrow use clause can stop you adding a hot food counter or alcohol later.
2. Exclusive. Ask the landlord not to lease another unit in the plaza for a grocery store or supermarket. Be specific: does it cover a pharmacy selling groceries, a dollar store with a food aisle, a convenience store, a butcher?
3. Anchor and co-tenancy. If you are the anchor, other tenants’ exclusives can restrict you, so ask for a list of existing exclusives. If you are not the anchor, consider a rent reduction or exit right if the anchor goes dark.
4. Roof and exterior equipment rights. The right to install, maintain and replace condensers and lines, with clear rules on restoration at the end.
5. Electrical and landlord’s work. Who pays for a service upgrade, a new meter, and connection fees, and by what date.
6. HVAC and refrigeration repair. Make the lease clear that refrigeration equipment is yours and the base-building HVAC is the landlord’s, or the reverse, so nobody argues during a heat wave.
7. Hours and deliveries. Early-morning deliveries and late hours must be allowed in the lease and the rules and regulations.
8. Conditional period. Time to get public health plan approval, a zoning answer and an electrical assessment before the deposit becomes non-refundable.
9. Assignment. Grocery stores are often sold as going concerns. A reasonable assignment clause protects your exit and resale value.

Deal-killers to check on a viewing

• The landlord cannot tell you the electrical service size, or it is clearly too small and nobody will commit to upgrading it.
• No roof access or no legal right to place equipment outside the unit.
• The only delivery access is through the front door or across the main parking aisle.
• An existing tenant already holds an exclusive for groceries, meat, produce or alcohol.
• The retail floor space falls just short of what you need for the alcohol licence you were counting on.
• Zoning does not permit retail, or permits it only under conditions the unit cannot meet.
• Floor drains, plumbing or the slab make walk-ins and prep areas impractical without major work.
• The previous food tenant left mould, pests or failed equipment. Ask for their inspection history.

If you are also making sweets or baked goods on site, see my sweet shop premises guide for the cooking and ventilation side.

Where I fit

I help grocers and ethnic supermarket owners find plaza and storefront space across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and the rest of the GTA. Before you sign, I read the lease line by line, check zoning and the existing exclusives, and push for written answers on hydro, roof rights and deliveries. If you are buying an existing store instead, my retail store valuation tool gives you a starting number.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 493/17: Food Premises — water, handwashing, refrigeration at 4°C, food handler training
• Ontario e-Laws — Health Protection and Promotion Act, s. 16 — notice to medical officer of health before operating
• City of Toronto — Take-Out or Retail Food Establishment licence — licence fees, zoning approval, occupancy declaration
• Toronto Public Health — Submitting plans for a food business — plan review before construction, pre-opening inspection
• AGCO — Apply for a convenience store or grocery store licence — floor area criteria, fees, LCBO timing, container returns
• City of Brampton — Fixed Food Premises licence requirements (2026) — Class E grocery, fee, insurance, Peel inspection
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency — Food importers: you need a Safe Food for Canadians licence — licence for importing food
• City of Toronto — Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 220 Loading Space Regulations — loading spaces for retail by floor area
• Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 219/01: Operating Engineers — refrigeration plant registration and operators

Related reading

• Convenience store premises in Ontario
• Butcher shop premises in Ontario
• Bakery premises requirements in Ontario
• The commercial lease use clause
• Change of use permits for commercial tenants
• Retail store valuation tool
• The use clause in a commercial lease