Way-past-bedtime or brutally early starting times for hockey games have Metro Vancouver bar owners ambivalent about the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Only one bar owner has contacted the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) to request approval to serve liquor outside permitted hours, the branch said.
Most hockey games start at either 11:40 p.m. or 4:10 a.m. Pacific standard time, although some preliminary-round games start at either 7:10 p.m. or 7:10 a.m. The good news is that the women’s gold medal game starts at 8:10 a.m. on February 21, which is a Wednesday, while the men’s gold medal hockey game starts at 8:10 p.m. on February 24, which is a Saturday.
Several area mayors told Business in Vancouver that while they are willing to work with bar owners who want to keep their premises open either later or earlier than normal, the authority to loosen regulations lies with the LCLB.
Bar owners who want extended hours must make an application to the LCLB because the branch will not issue a blanket extension of hours to all bars in the province or even to those in a specific city or neighbourhood.
LCLB regulations allow liquor service in bars, pubs, nightclubs and restaurants across B.C. starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 a.m. the following day, although municipalities may further restrict those times.
Liquor-primary establishments must also be empty of patrons within half an hour of the end of liquor service.
Any liquor-primary establishment can open earlier to host alcohol-free events, such as a breakfast, starting at 6 a.m. But the LCLB requires all people at the breakfast to leave the bar 30 minutes before it starts serving alcohol. Bar owners can ask the LCLB for approval to waive that requirement. They can also ask the LCLB to approve an opening before 6 a.m.
“I don’t see a benefit, to be honest with you,” said Tap & Barrel owner Daniel Frankel, whose North Vancouver location normally closes at midnight on weeknights.
He told BIV that in the past he has asked the LCLB for permission to open at odd hours for special events and been approved. Often those requests were prompted by regulars – who sometimes failed to show up for the customized opening hours.
Joseph Richard Group principal Ryan Moreno, who operates 13 pubs and three steak and lobster houses, is interested in the idea of expanded opening hours but has not yet made any request.
“If there is interest, I would like to [open later],” said Moreno, whose pubs often close at 11 p.m. or midnight. “It would be nice for those events to have the allowance to do it. The challenge is liquor licensing. That’s the problem.”
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said bar owners in his city have been “exceptionally responsible,” so it was unlikely the city would object to a temporary relaxation of regulations.
“We would be quite sympathetic to businesses if they wanted to extend hours and needed city approval,” said Darrell Mussatto, mayor of the City of North Vancouver. “We would want to work with them, keeping in mind that some of them have residents living nearby, and we’d also have to be respectful of them.”
City of Vancouver spokesman Jag Sandhu told BIV that if the LCLB considers relaxing regulations for a number of bars, it’s likely it will consult with the city before it makes its decision.
“We would look at things like the track record of the operator, ... and we may connect with the Vancouver Police Department for input if it is warranted,” he said. “Ultimately the call comes from the province.”
