The owner of Finn’s Seafood Chops and Cocktails restaurant on Wharf Street is “feeling sick” about the province’s decision to impose liquor rationing in government-owned stores as it reacts to job action at distribution warehouses.
David Cooper said Friday that the same level of rationing applies to a 12-seat cafe as to his 350-seat downtown restaurant.
“I just can’t for the life of me understand what they were thinking.”
He understands the need to impose restrictions to prevent runs on products but the way it was done shows “complete carelessness towards businesses. … It just makes me feel sick. I feel sick for nightclub owners.”
Finn’s is in its high season and the restaurant sector has been hard hit through the pandemic. “We are trying to make whatever money we can to get through the winter,” Cooper said.
The restaurant has enough inventory to get through the coming weekend, he said, anticipating the situation will become more challenging if it continues.
Many restaurants receive liquor orders one to two times per week.
The province has announced that no more than three of any individual item may be purchased per customer per day at B.C.-owned liquor stores. Beer purchases are exempt. This applies to both a business customer and an individual.
Four- and six-packs and other products in similar formats count as one product.
Limits came into effect after the B.C. General Employees’ Union began limited job action this week. Pickets have gone up around four liquor distribution warehouses. One is in Victoria.
The union is seeking wage increases and cost-of-living protection.
Shellie Gudgeon, who owns Il Terrazzo Ristorante with husband Mike, is in a better position than many, saying, “at this point, we have a large inventory.”
The restaurant’s 30-year anniversary is in November. Gudgeon is concerned for owners of newer restaurants, saying they don’t have extra cash to carry much of an inventory of liquor.
Jayme Beaudry, general manager of Zambri’s restaurant, moved quickly to stock up when the job action began. The restaurant, which serves Italian wine, is okay for at least two weeks.
She is hoping other restaurants stocked up too. “But if they didn’t have the chance to as of today, you’re basically out of luck because you can’t get by with three bottles of wine.”
Ian Tostenson, chief executive of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said restrictions “could not come at a worse time for our industry.” It has not yet recovered from the impact of the pandemic.
Along with a labour shortage facing the hospitality sector, the limits could cause some businesses to shut down temporarily, he said.
No one knows how long the job action at warehouses will last, he said.
He expects restaurants will shift to local products but said there is not an unlimited supply.
Under the new rules, which do not have an end date, restaurants can buy directly from B.C. wineries, craft distilleries and craft beer outlets.
“The whole thing is a mess,” Tostenson said. It’s a mess because of uncertainty for businesses, because the industry is not in a position to take this on financially or with the current labour situation. “The consequences are real.”
People in the sector are angry and scared, he said.
Jeff Guignard, executive director of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees, predicts some products will be sold out as early as this weekend due to rationing. His group represents private liquor stores, bars, pubs and retail cannabis outlets.
“Today we are asking both sides to get back to the table immediately and find a deal, because this is now impacting B.C.’s entire $1.5-billion liquor industry, thousands of small businesses and 200,000 workers that we employ,” he said at a press conference.
Private liquor stores are not planning to impose similar limits on purchases, he said.
Some retailers have seen limited “panic buying” because of job action and the rationing could make it worse.
Cannabis stores are also affected because their products come from provincial warehouses behind picket lines as well.
Kevin Marr, assistant manager Pineapple Express on Esquimalt Road, said regular weekly orders arrive on Wednesdays. “I can definitely see our stock is starting to dwindle a bit.”
Right now, “there are some very popular products that we are completely out of” while others are at lower inventory than usual. Pineapple Express has alternate products for customers, he said.
Rationing has not been imposed for cannabis sales.
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