The LCBO is finally nearing completion of deals with three retailers — in Toronto, Mississauga and London — to install express kiosks in grocery stores, as announced as part of a long-awaited pilot project last spring, says a spokesperson for the liquor agency.

But consumers won’t see any beer and spirits sold in supermarkets before the new year, despite the original pledge by Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa to see the kiosks in at least a few of the 10 planned for the experiment by the end of 2014, said LCBO spokesperson Heather MacGregor.

“I can confirm that we are in the process of concluding lease agreements with host retailers for LCBO Express stores in London, Mississauga and Toronto, and we expect these negotiations to be concluded soon,” she told The Star.

“These negotiations take time. We have people working on it and it continues to progress,” MacGregor added.

Which grocers and their exact locations are not yet being revealed.

“Once the agreements are finalized, the timeline for completion — and opening — will largely be dependent on how quickly the host retailer can build the space, as well as final approval from government. It is unlikely this will happen before the holidays,” she said.

After the concept was unveiled with much fanfare on April 1, grocery stores had to apply to the province by May 9 for a chance to install the store-within-a-store, which would sell a wide variety of beer, spirits and wine, including craft beers and VQA wines.

Critics at the time found the terms and geographic restrictions of the kiosks strict. Included in those details was the fact that grocery stores were responsible for all construction costs, lighting and power, and needed to use signage and designs that are up to LCBO specifications, according to the Request for Proposal.

That document also states a grocery store must not already include a winery retail store and must not be within a half-kilometre of an existing LCBO location. The grocer must also install a new washroom if one is not located 45 metres from the kiosk and the supermarket must be at least 15,000 square feet in size, with a minimum 2,000 square feet reserved for the liquor kiosk, which excluded smaller retailers and convenience stores.

Despite that, MacGregor said there was “decent participation in the process, including large grocery retailers.”