After a month of new liquor restrictions issued by the government of British Columbia, Âé¶čAV watering holes are calling out for help.
On Sept. 8, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ordered a ban on alcohol sales in restaurants, bars and pubs after 10 p.m., as well as requiring them to close by 11 p.m. if the kitchen doesnât remain open. In addition, Henry ordered nightclubs and stand-alone banquet halls to shut down completely.
With local bars and restaurants trying to get back on their feet after having to close their doors for several months due to COVID-19, the new restrictions have knocked many establishments back down, losing out on prime hours after 10 p.m.
Âé¶čAVâs Social 242 Lounge and Grill on downtown Âé¶čAVâs Lawrence Avenue is one of those establishments. With a business model that teeters to those looking for a club-like vibe, Social opens its doors at 5 p.m. and is usually open until late, raking in the bulk of its sales after 10 p.m.
âThe crummy thing for us is we donât open for lunch and generally it starts getting busy around seven-ish, so thereâs really only three hours of work for us since we canât serve booze past 10,â said Social 242 owner Daniel Mulgrew.
âWeâre noticing our 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. customers are showing up, but our normal 9 p.m. customers just arenât because thereâs really no point to come for just one hour.â
And as the clock strikes 10 p.m., bar and pub owners are beginning to notice a nightly parade to the nearest liquor store, as theyâre currently allowed to stay open until 11 p.m.
âThe business essentially gets driven underground. Thereâs no contact tracing at house parties and there are no precautions,â said Dave Willoughby, owner of Doc Willoughbyâs on Bernard Avenue. âThat seems to be a real disconnect between Dr. Bonnie Henry and the provincial government, and the hospitality industry. They donât understand how it works.â
Willoughbyâs frustrations recently made waves in Victoria after he added a message to the barâs receipts calling on his patrons to âVote that f*cker outâ in reference to B.C. Premier John Horgan and the provincial governmentâs handling of the hospitality industry throughout the pandemic.
âIt certainly got a strong response,â he said, adding Doc Willoughbyâs was forced to register as a third-party advertiser with Elections BC, but the message has since been removed from the receipts.
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Now open just 25 hours a week, Mulgrew said the restrictions are taking a toll on his staff, stating Social has very seldom had turnover, until now.
âI feel really bad for my staff. Theyâre in a really hard position. Almost all of them are looking for second jobs now. There hasnât been any action from the province in regards to helping out the hospitality industry.â
âIâve already had one staff member leave because they had to find more hours.â
While Docâs may have more hours to go around for its staff, being open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, servers are leaving their shifts with lighter-than-usual pockets.
âItâs one thing to have your shift cut in half, but itâs another thing altogether to work as a server and not have any customers and not have any tips,â said Willoughby. âItâs quite a bit worse for them.â
Mulgrew is an owner who takes pride in his staff and as a token of appreciation, he decided to close shop for a week and take his staff on a trip to Tofino.
âWith the curfew right now weâre only open 25 hours a week, so it kind of seemed like a good time to jet out of town and explore somewhere else. Theyâre my family I want to make sure theyâre looked after as best as possible.â
When asked about remodelling to be open longer, Mulgrew said his establishmentâs location doesnât have enough foot traffic to warrant being open at lunchtime and Willougby said food sales donât net them enough money to make pushing their hours to 2 a.m. worthwhile.
âWe could stay open until 2 a.m. selling hotdogs ⊠but it doesnât make any sense,â Willoughby said. âHow many hotdogs do you have to sell to keep the lights on?â
With few new COVID-19 cases within Interior Health, both Mulgrew and Willoughby said they would like to see action from the province, noting their businesses shouldnât have to suffer because of high case-counts in the Lower Mainland.
âI think it makes a lot more sense to regionalize (the restrictions),â said Mulgrew.
âI donât understand why the province has to blanket it so much, especially when we have so little cases here. It is heavy-handed and poorly thought out.â
While both establishments will remain open for now, Willoughby said Âé¶čAV is at a âtipping point,â at risk of losing some of its most iconic drinkeries.
âThere are closures already happening (across the province),â he said.
âWeâre at a point where weâre employing our staff, not because we can afford to, but because we want to give them a job. Weâre absorbing the losses right now. And you can only do that for so long.
âIf things taper off any further, we could be forced to close, and it would be an indefinite closure until things improve.â
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