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-Top Shelf Canada
A story that begins with a late-night pub shift fuelled by mediocre hot sauce options and culinary inquisitiveness ends with a Sarnia-based business on the verge of a national breakthrough. That’s the tale of Top Shelf Canada, a hot-sauce maker that launched in 2022 and quickly grew traction with local restaurants and grocery stores.
The story behind the success of the Front Street Heat pepper blend hasn’t been without its bumps, though. This summer, the company is facing a tax squeeze. When Ontario re-imposed public health restrictions last December, the province allowed businesses such as breweries and wineries to put off paying selected provincial taxes without incurring interest or penalties.
But distilleries like Top Shelf aren’t exempt from the same rules. And even if they were, they wouldn’t necessarily have an advantage over other Ontario-based businesses. The current excise tax on spirits is $11 per litre of alcohol, compared to $2 for beer and zero for wines using locally grown grapes.
It’s a situation that could spell disaster for the eight-year-old business, and it’s one of many in the Ottawa region struggling as a result of government-imposed restrictions. “The whole thing is crippling,” says Michael Waterston, vice-president of government relations at Craft Spirits Ontario, which represents the province’s 45 or so craft distillers.
