Restaurateurs have lobbied for decades to be allowed to buy wine, beer and spirits for less than B.C. government liquor store retail prices, but those efforts have turned out to be in vain.
On April 1, the B.C. Liberal government is making the biggest overhaul in decades to how alcohol is sold in the province, but despite various recent moves intended to improve liquor regulations for restaurateurs, they’re among businesses that feel the most ignored and angry.
For example, they’ll continue to be forced to buy exclusively from British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) stores at the full retail price plus 5% goods and services tax.
Other changes, restaurant owners say, will add bureaucracy.
“The premier has left us out to dry,” said Emad Yacoub, whose Glowbal Collection owns eight restaurants, including Black + Blue, Coast and Italian Kitchen. “She listened to every lobby group but the restaurants. Then, she throws us a little bone with [the freedom to have] happy-hour pricing, thinking she will make us happy, but happy hours don’t do much for the restaurant business.”
Yacoub said that during the consultation phase government officials led him and other restaurateurs to believe that they understood restaurateurs’ argument that lower liquor prices in restaurants would spur spending to help the economy, stimulate tourism and increase government tax dollars.
“Any time we met with anyone, they would say, ‘Yes, we understand,’” Yacoub said. “The people who are getting screwed are the [restaurants’] customers.”
Cioppino’s owner Pino Posteraro agreed.
He said that, at the very least, the government could have allowed restaurateurs to buy wine directly from B.C.’s 12 independent wine stores or other alcohol from the province’s 670 private liquor stores.
After all, Attorney General Suzanne Anton, who is in charge of the liquor law changes, has stressed that her new system of a single wholesale price for all retailers will create a level playing field (see “Wholesale pricing to be a major change ...” below).
Posteraro questioned how the playing field will be level if retailers aren’t free to compete for restaurants as clients.
Restaurateurs want the option to buy from private alcohol retailers because volume purchases could persuade them to give restaurants price discounts.
BCLDB stores don’t give discounts regardless of how much a restaurant or bar buys.
Anton said there would be some BCLDB retail revenue loss were restaurants permitted to buy from private operators.
This story first appeared in out sister publication Business in Vancouver. Click here to read the complete story.
