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Happy hour changes cheered by pub owners

On the first official weekend that many bars and pubs in Vancouver instituted happy hour specials, patrons and bar keeps seemed, well, happy.
Donnelly Group
Donnelly Group director of marketing Damon Holowchak enjoys Happy Hour at The Blackbird. photo Rob Newell

On the first official weekend that many bars and pubs in Vancouver instituted happy hour specials, patrons and bar keeps seemed, well, happy.

On June 20 the provincial government caught up to provinces in the rest of Canada when it relaxed liquor laws to allow licensed bars and restaurants to change drink prices over the course of a day. The change also came with new minimum drink pricing.

Andy Gillooley, a British expatriate and fan of the pint, was thrilled he can finally have a cheap brew at his favourite Vancouver watering hole, the Butcher and Bullock, where he regularly gathers with fellow Liverpool countrymen.

“Coming from Britain, it seems like it is a step forward in many respects. Obviously we are a little bit more laid back about things like that,” said Gillooley, 31, a marketer who managed pubs in Liverpool.

“Vancouver is an expensive place to have a drink at the best of times and it means now we can get out and just enjoy a quiet pint,” he said.

According to Jeff Donnelly, founder of the Donnelly Group, which operates 14 pubs in Vancouver including the Butcher and Bullock, the most important result of the relaxation of the rules may be a shift in the culture of drinking in the city.

“You never want to mention No Fun City, if you don’t have to, but maybe this will take us out of that a little bit,” he told the Courier over the phone.

He thinks happy hours will encourage more after work parties.

“Welcome to the 21st century, I guess,” he said with a laugh.

Donnelly isn’t concerned more relaxed rules promote irresponsible drinking.

“This has been seen and studied and research has been done on this all over the world, the more relaxed they are with the laws, the more relaxed people are,” he said.

“In Europe kids start drinking at 14. Vancouver riots because we hold on to them so tight that when we finally let them go, everyone goes crazy.”

Donnelly said for his pubs, which now offer Happy Hour Prohibition is Over specials — $3 beers, wines and highballs from 3 to 6 p.m. — the change will likely mean hiring more staff and for customers it will mean being able to try higher quality drinks at lower prices.

Donnelly said while he couldn’t speak for bars in the suburbs, he didn’t think bars in Vancouver would charge more for beer to meet the government’s new minimum pricing, as has been claimed by some, including NDP liquor-policy critic and Vancouver-Hastings MLA Shane Simpson. 

Donnelly admits some city bars may take advantage of the new cheaper price allowances and offer drinks at a reduced rate for an extended period as a way to lure business from other pubs, but he isn’t worried about a race to the bottom in liquor pricing.

“I think everyone is going to try whatever they can try and they are allowed to do that,” he said.

Thuncher@shaw.ca
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