The latest private liquor store has made its way into Swift Current, as the Pioneer Co-op opened the doors of one earlier this week.

Since November of 2015, the province has been transitioning to an expanded private retail liquor system with the idea to sell liquor wholesale to all of the stores, letting them set their own prices.

With that transition, a total of 40 SLGA liquor stores closed, only to be reopened as private, along with an additional 11 private retailers to be opened in other communities.

The transition has also resulted in the province's 600-plus liquor retailers now being mostly privately owned, with only 36 of those retailers being SLGA stores, including the one in Swift Current.

Alain De Gagne, division manager with the Pioneer Co-op, said that with them having a facility already in Swift Current and the opportunity presenting itself, it was an easy decision to add a liquor store to the facility on the north end of Swift Current.

"The Pioneer Co-op saw an opportunity from the board's perspective to enhance services for our members," he said. "It creates a one-stop shop."

The opening of the liquor store also joins two more private liquor stores opening up, as stores in Estevan and Oxbow were also opened this week.

"It's just another avenue for growth," DeGagne said. "We have to keep on creating services and offering so that members come back. Repeat customers are what make us successful."

Swift Current joins Gravelbourg, Gull Lake, Leader, Maple Creek, and Shaunavon as stores that have privatized in southwest Saskatchewan.

The Pioneer Co-op store, however, is the only to not previously be formerly-owned by SLGA.