Getting locked inside a store after closing time might be the stuff of nightmares for many, but for some people, getting locked inside a liquor store might sound like more of a dream come true.

That's what happened to one Halifax man on the weekend.

When Gaurav Arora stopped by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation on Sunday, he had no idea he would be the last one leaving.

“Everyone dreams of it,” said Arora. “Locked inside a liquor store and to have every bottle at your disposal.”

Arora was in the cold-beer section around 5 p.m., trying to decide what to pick up, when he found himself in the dark.

“It was shocking,” Arora said. “I thought it was one of those moments when actually, the power trips and the emergency restoration takes a couple minutes to come back. I tried waiting it out; I was still looking at the cans.”

Only, the lights didn't come back on.

In fact, the store had closed and Arora was locked inside.

“When I stepped outside, there was nobody around and I was still stunned,” Arora said. “The next moment, I could hear the alarm buzzing. At that moment, I thought, oh, whoa, I'm in an emergency. Lights are out, alarms are buzzing, where the hell is everybody?”

After about 20 minutes inside, Arora was able to get out of the store himself.

“My family was in the nearby store,” Arora said. “I walked up to them and told them and they were laughing, ‘You were stuck in a liquor store?’”

Police came to the store after the alarm went off, but quickly realized there was nothing wrong.

“Initially, the cop said, oh, the liquor store is closed, but, then she realized I was the one stuck inside and she kept on laughing the whole time,” Arora said.

Many Haligonians say there are worse places you could be locked in.

“If I was desperate, I’d open a bottle of liquor,” said Debbie Prince.

Mike Welker says it could have been an expensive evening.

“I'm sure they would count before you got to leave,” Welker said. “But, it's fun, I think. Wow, he got locked in a liquor store. I never heard of that one before.”

Arora isn't mad, but he does wonder how it happened.

“They could have at least called up when they were closing till, or, they could have at least made a public announcement, OK, fine, shut down in next five minutes, I could have walked out,” Arora said.

The NSLC says it's protocol to check the store before closing and that they are refreshing their policy with all staff.

“We are extremely sorry for the customer,” said NSLC spokeswoman Bev Ware. “I mean, it would be a very traumatic experience for him and we really do apologize to him.”

The NSLC says this is the first time anyone has ever been locked inside one of their stores after closing.

They have apologized to Arora, however, he says he still didn't get the case of beer he initially went in for.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.