Clarence Benson and William Charles Paton hang out a lot. They go to the park together. They buy their beer together. The difference is that Paton, who is a bit taller and more gangly, can only buy beer once a day.

The Beer Store on Gerrard St. E. at Seaton St. has an unofficial policy of limiting customers to one purchase per day.

“You can go in and buy two flats,” said Benson. “But if you go in twice to buy two cans, they won’t do it.”

When asked about the issue, the store’s assistant manager, who declined to give his name because employees are not permitted to speak with the media, held up his index finger and said: “once a day.”

“We have it hard here,” he said of the store’s location, explaining they employ an off-duty police officer on Fridays and Saturdays. “It’s a zoo. You should see the mornings.

“There’s a difference between being drunk and buying two beers, but it is what it is.”

Beer Store management had not heard of the policy before being contacted by the Star and promised to investigate.

“The only people who are not served are people who are not of age or who appear intoxicated,” said Jeff Newton, president of Canada’s National Brewers and spokesman for the Beer Store. “That’s our corporate policy and stores are expected to comply with it.”

The store’s policy doesn’t appear to be universally applied. Benson, with his neat spectacles and closely cropped hair, said he has no problem buying beer two or three times per day.

“It depends on your look,” he claimed.

The Gerrard St. Beer Store serves two distinct populations. It sits across the street from leafy and expensive Cabbagetown, but is also only blocks from Seaton House, one of the city’s largest homeless shelters.

Benson and Paton live at Seaton House, but they say only Benson gets served, perhaps because he doesn’t look the part of a homeless man.

“There shouldn’t be a limit for anyone,” Benson said. “If you’re intoxicated, you should be refused. But if you’re sober, you should be able to go in six times per day.”

“It’s embarrassing,” said customer Wilton Edward. “When they tell you they won’t serve you and everyone else hears it in line.

“I’d rather just head up to other store at Parliament and Wellesley.”

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Several other customers complained about the policy outside the store Thursday, but refused to give their names.

Correction - August 30, 2013: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled the surname of William Charles Paton.