Woolworths wins interim liquor trading relief for Dainfern WCellar

Woolworths can temporarily sell liquor at the WCellar inside its Dainfern Food Emporium in Johannesburg, following interim High Court relief. The order allows trading while the licensing dispute continues.

WCellar is the retailer’s dedicated wine and alcohol outlet, located within the Food Emporium at Dainfern Square. The court’s intervention concerns permission to trade during proceedings, not a final resolution of the licence application.

How the licensing dispute developed

The reported licensing history began in October 2022, when Woolworths applied for a liquor licence and received conditional approval. That approval required photographs of the completed premises and a site inspection, with no compliance period stated.

Construction began in March 2026, following delays, and the Food Emporium opened in August 2026. Shortly before opening, the Gauteng Provincial Liquor Board told Woolworths its application had lapsed and a new application was required.

Woolworths then sought court intervention. Alongside the interim trading relief, the court ordered punitive costs against the board for the first part of the proceedings.

R200,000 a week is a projection

A quoted High Court judgment passage puts the outlet’s projected annual gross turnover at R10.4 million, equivalent to approximately R200,000 per week. The court described the weekly amount as projected foregone sales.

Those figures represent expected turnover, not recorded sales or profit. They frame the commercial stakes of opening the Food Emporium without its alcohol outlet.

For Woolworths, the practical result is permission to sell liquor at the Dainfern WCellar while the remaining proceedings continue.