Liquor Industry Update: November 2, 2023

Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s update:

  • Update from ABLE BC President Yvan Charette

  • Virtual Happy Hour with ABLE BC President: Nov. 14

  • Advocacy Win: Single Bottle Pick Service Expanded!

  • Vancouver Amends Wine in Grocery Rules

  • Reminder: Pay Transparency Rules now in Effect

  • Hospitality Industry Survey: Help Us Tell Your Story

  • go2HR on Tap: Preventing Sprains and Strains in Pubs

  • Furniture For Sale: The Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub Closing

  • Cannabis Corner: Help Support Our Advocacy Efforts

  • Out and About with ABLE BC

  • ABLE BC in the New

Find all past updates here.

Update from ABLE BC’s President: Yvan Charette

Dear Members,

As business owners, we all face many challenges throughout our day. As a liquor retailer and publican, I find sharing ideas about how we can strengthen our businesses and offer excellent service are keys to success.  

For me, old-fashioned industry comradery can really provide the  SPARK (pun intended!) to refresh, redesign, rethink and/or reeducate ourselves to create stronger staffing and customer experiences.

Which is why I found this year’s SPARK conference so amazing.  

This year’s SPARK Conference felt like a mini version of the Las Vegas Bar & Restaurant Expo. The Executive teams at ABLE BC and the BC Hotel Association created a star-studded line-up of great speakers who offered key insight on many topics.  

Each of the 16 seminars and panel discussions were top notch, with professional, charismatic, educated industry professionals speaking on topics like team building, recruitment, communication, and how AI will transform our businesses. One would be hard pressed to list their favorite session, because the presenters where that good!

The ABLE BC team have set a new standard, which we will built on each year. Based on attendee feedback, we are already discussing topics like:

  • Surveying members on their thoughts. (Even those that did not attend, I want to engage with you on potential ideas for future involvement.)

  • Adding seminar recordings so those unable to attend can receive industry insights.

  • Expanding the reception to include food cooking, cocktail development, and competitions.

  • An industry after party with a DJ

  • Expanding on topics and tasting salon stations.

In short, this conference was invigorating and motivated me to return to work more positive and focused. Not only did I get to spend time with industry champions, I was able to learn from and interact with presenters. 

I am also very energized to represent ABLE BC in any way needed to serve the membership and our highly professional staff. Creating a conference like SPARK 2023 shows exactly why ABLE BC and the BCHA are top notch associations. Amazing work to you all.

Yvan Charette

President of ABLE BC

 Virtual Happy Hour with ABLE BC President Yvan Charette: Nov. 14

Want to hear the latest directly from ABLE BC’s President? Curious about how ABLE BC’s Board of Directors works on your behalf? 

Join ABLE BC’s President, Yvan Charette, for a virtual happy hour on Tuesday, Nov. 14 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Yvan will be discussing his role as President, current issues impacting the industry, and how ABLE BC’s works to support your businesses.

Pour yourself a pint and come prepared for a lively discussion of topics such as:

  • An operator’s perspective on the Minors as Agents Program

  • Is it time for mandatory ID in LRSs?

  • Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) transparency and Government Liquor Store pricing strategies

  • Should BC’s minimum wage policy still be tied to inflation?

To register, click here or email jeff@ablebc.ca.

Advocacy Win: Single Bottle Pick Service Expanded

We are pleased to announce a significant advocacy win for members who rely on single bottle picks! Effective immediately, the LDB has increased the number of SKUs available for single bottle picks to nearly 400. Single bottle picks are especially important for our smaller retail members who do not wish to purchase certain SKUs in case lots.

Please see this memo from the LDB to learn more.

Effective immediately, LDB Wholesale Operations will be expanding its single bottle pick service, offering a selection of year-round spirits, champagnes, wines and liqueurs in 750ml and 1.14L volume format, posted on the LDB Wholesale Operations website here.

The expanded single bottle pick service selection reflects top selling SKUs and seasonal trends while balancing efficient distribution centre operations with customer demand, allowing LDB Wholesale Operations to focus on providing uninterrupted service to our customers. 

The 10% bottle pick rule – as applicable to specific customer types, and outlined in the WCC Order Handbook– will continue to apply. 

Our partnerships are very important to us and we value the feedback received from industry and the Business Technical Advisory Panel (BTAP) on services and products our customers rely on. Today’s announcement is in response to BTAP’s request that we explore options to expand the single bottle pick service selection.

The selection assortment will be reviewed and assessed seasonally each year.

Vancouver Amends Wine in Grocery Rules 

On October 19, 2023, Vancouver City Council voted to amend its bylaws to permit wine on shelves in Vancouver’s grocery stores. We know many of you have concerns, so we’ve summarized key points below.

  • Despite media excitement, this change will have very little impact. Our analysis suggests the most likely scenario is one or two grocery stores in Vancouver will start retailing wine.

  • This is a small change to existing policy. Vancouver first permitted grocery wine sales in April 2018, when Council approved grocery stores to operate a store-in-store model. This bylaw restriction was a direct result of ABLE BC’s advocacy efforts at the time.

  • Regardless of Vancouver’s rules, all liquor licenses must first be granted by the provincial Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. Government has confirmed it will not issue any further wine in grocery licenses.

  • There are 33 grocery wine licenses in BC (21 Wine Store Licenses and 12 Special Wine Store Licenses), almost all of which are operating currently.

  • While the practical impact will be minimal, we share your frustration that Vancouver removed any barrier to wine in grocery. At a time when grocery stores are making record profits, it makes little sense to implement policies that may hurt local small businesses.

  • Wine store licenses are exempt from the provincial 1 km distance rule, which applies to both government and private retailers. To support our retailer members, we successfully advocated for local distance rules and other restrictions to restrict grocery (such Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Kamloops).

  • ABLE BC continues to monitor this issue closely and fights preemptively against any expansion of grocery liquor sales.

Executive Director Jeff Guignard tackled this issue on television and radio last week. Catch him on Global News, CTV Vancouver, and CBC Radio.

If you have additional questions, please reach out to Jeff directly at jeff@ablebc.ca.

Reminder: Pay Transparency Rules Now in Effect 

British Columbia employers are now required to include expected pay or pay range in job postings. BC’s Pay Transparency Act came into force on November 1 in an effort to help address systemic discrimination in the workforce.

All people deserve to be paid fairly and our communities are stronger when everyone is treated equally. However, too many women in B.C. are still making less than men. Last year, women in B.C. earned 17% less than men. The pay gap also disproportionately impacts Indigenous women, women of colour, and immigrant women, as well as women with disabilities and non-binary people.

 Click here for more information.

Hospitality Industry Survey: Help us Tell Your Story

It is no secret that BC’s hospitality industry is still struggling to recover financially from the pandemic. Capturing current data on your business challenges and overall profitability will help us tell your story when we advocate with the provincial and federal governments.

Our partners are Restaurants Canada are seeking to capture a current financial snapshot of industry. Please complete this short survey by Friday, Nov. 3. The information you provide will be kept strictly confidential and responses will only be shared in aggregate. 

According to Restaurants Canada’s recently released 2023 Foodservice Facts, sales in the hospitality industry remain below pre-pandemic levels. After adjusting sales figures for menu price inflation, food service sales are still 30 per cent below 2019 levels at bars, pubs, lounges, full-service restaurants, and caterers.

Click here to take the survey now.

go2HR on Tap: Preventing Sprains and Strains in Pubs

Both front and back-of-house workers are at risk of musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) when working in bars, pubs, and nightclubs. Whether putting away deliveries, serving tables, washing heavy pots, or moving a keg, there is potential for strains, sprains, and inflammation to occur.

WorkSafeBC reports that from 2018-2022, 33% of all workplace injuries in the pub sector involved “strains”—mostly to workers’ backs, knees, and other joints. The good news is many of these injuries—which often result in time off work to rest and heal—are avoidable. 

Employers can protect workers by managing the risks associated with MSIs. Use these simple risk assessment principles when looking at work tasks that involve lifting and carrying: 

  1. Understand the risk factors involved in the work: force, repetition, work posture, and contact with hard or sharp objects are the main physical risk factors to consider. 

  2. Assess the risk factors: take into consideration the possible severity and likelihood of injury occurring if the risk is not properly controlled. 

  3. Implement adequate and practical controls: provide adequate protection and support for workers to perform their work safely. Consult your workers to find out what they think and what would work best for them. After all, they know the specifics of the job better than anyone.  

 Share go2HR’s worker handout on lifting safely with your workers to help them lift and carry safely and minimize avoidable injuries that take them away from work. 

Questions about managing MSIs in your workplace or need help with any other aspect of workplace health and safety? Contact go2HR’s team of health and safety experts at safety@go2hr.ca

Visit go2HR’s landing page for pubs, bars and nightclubs, for more health and safety information and curated resources.

Furniture For Sale: The Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub Closing

Long-time ABLE BC member, The Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub in the Lynn Valley, is closing shop after 27 years.

They are trying to rehome some of their pub furniture–including chairs, stools and tables. If you are interested in some good quality furniture, please contact Claudia Kolar at 604-988-8744 or office@blackbearpub.com for more information.

 Cannabis Corner: Help Support Our Advocacy Efforts

As ABLE BC works to support BC’s cannabis retailers, we meet regularly with various officials at the LDB, LCRB, and with elected officials in the federal, provincial, and municipal government. With your support, we are making meaningful headway amending regulations and policies that support industry growth.

Want to get involved in our cannabis advocacy? To join our Cannabis Committee, contact Executive Director Jeff Guignard at jeff@ablebc.ca.

Do you own a cannabis retail store? Sign up now for an ABLE BC cannabis membership to support the work we do on your behalf. Sign up with code ABLECAN1 to save $100 off a cannabis membership for your first store, and code ABLECAN2 to save $50 off a membership for each additional store.

Click here to join as a cannabis member now!

Out and About with ABLE BC!

Jeff was in-studio at CBC Radio last week, talking to Gloria Makarenko about Vancouver’s new wine in grocery policies. You can listen to the interview here.

Also last week, ABLE BC Director Mike McKee was included in Business in Vancouver’s 2023 list of 500 Most Influential Leaders in BC! Mike was selected for his contributions to BC’s cannabis industry. According to BIV:

“Mike oversees real estate and finance at the five-location Muse Cannabis and JAK’s Beer Wine Spirits. Prior to joining the JAK Group in 2009, Mike founded and ran his own junk and recycling company called TrashBusters, which operated in six cities throughout North America. Muse Cannabis was an early licensed market entrant and is one of the largest operators of private cannabis stores in BC. Mike is the company’s government and industry relations officer and he sits on the Board of ABLE BC.”

Congratulations to Mike McKee for his impressive achievement! 

ABLE BC in the News

Check out Executive Director Jeff Guignard in the media over the past two weeks:

Ann Brydle