After a month of new liquor restrictions issued by the government of British Columbia, 琉璃神社 watering holes are calling out for help.

On Sept. 8, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ordered a ban on alcohol sales in restaurants, bars and pubs after 10 p.m., as well as requiring them to close by 11 p.m. if the kitchen doesn鈥檛 remain open. In addition, Henry ordered nightclubs and stand-alone banquet halls to shut down completely.

With local bars and restaurants trying to get back on their feet after having to close their doors for several months due to COVID-19, the new restrictions have knocked many establishments back down, losing out on prime hours after 10 p.m.

琉璃神社鈥檚 Social 242 Lounge and Grill on downtown 琉璃神社鈥檚 Lawrence Avenue is one of those establishments. With a business model that teeters to those looking for a club-like vibe, Social opens its doors at 5 p.m. and is usually open until late, raking in the bulk of its sales after 10 p.m.

鈥淭he crummy thing for us is we don鈥檛 open for lunch and generally it starts getting busy around seven-ish, so there鈥檚 really only three hours of work for us since we can鈥檛 serve booze past 10,鈥� said Social 242 owner Daniel Mulgrew.

鈥淲e鈥檙e noticing our 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. customers are showing up, but our normal 9 p.m. customers just aren鈥檛 because there鈥檚 really no point to come for just one hour.鈥�

And as the clock strikes 10 p.m., bar and pub owners are beginning to notice a nightly parade to the nearest liquor store, as they鈥檙e currently allowed to stay open until 11 p.m.

鈥淭he business essentially gets driven underground. There鈥檚 no contact tracing at house parties and there are no precautions,鈥� said Dave Willoughby, owner of Doc Willoughby鈥檚 on Bernard Avenue. 鈥淭hat seems to be a real disconnect between Dr. Bonnie Henry and the provincial government, and the hospitality industry. They don鈥檛 understand how it works.鈥�

Willoughby鈥檚 frustrations recently made waves in Victoria after he added a message to the bar鈥檚 receipts calling on his patrons to 鈥榁ote that f*cker out鈥� in reference to B.C. Premier John Horgan and the provincial government鈥檚 handling of the hospitality industry throughout the pandemic.

鈥淚t certainly got a strong response,鈥� he said, adding Doc Willoughby鈥檚 was forced to register as a third-party advertiser with Elections BC, but the message has since been removed from the receipts.

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Now open just 25 hours a week, Mulgrew said the restrictions are taking a toll on his staff, stating Social has very seldom had turnover, until now.

鈥淚 feel really bad for my staff. They鈥檙e in a really hard position. Almost all of them are looking for second jobs now. There hasn鈥檛 been any action from the province in regards to helping out the hospitality industry.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e already had one staff member leave because they had to find more hours.鈥�

While Doc鈥檚 may have more hours to go around for its staff, being open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, servers are leaving their shifts with lighter-than-usual pockets.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to have your shift cut in half, but it鈥檚 another thing altogether to work as a server and not have any customers and not have any tips,鈥� said Willoughby. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a bit worse for them.鈥�

Mulgrew is an owner who takes pride in his staff and as a token of appreciation, he decided to close shop for a week and take his staff on a trip to Tofino.

鈥淲ith the curfew right now we鈥檙e only open 25 hours a week, so it kind of seemed like a good time to jet out of town and explore somewhere else. They鈥檙e my family I want to make sure they鈥檙e looked after as best as possible.鈥�

When asked about remodelling to be open longer, Mulgrew said his establishment鈥檚 location doesn鈥檛 have enough foot traffic to warrant being open at lunchtime and Willougby said food sales don鈥檛 net them enough money to make pushing their hours to 2 a.m. worthwhile.

鈥淲e could stay open until 2 a.m. selling hotdogs 鈥� but it doesn鈥檛 make any sense,鈥� Willoughby said. 鈥淗ow many hotdogs do you have to sell to keep the lights on?鈥�

With few new COVID-19 cases within Interior Health, both Mulgrew and Willoughby said they would like to see action from the province, noting their businesses shouldn鈥檛 have to suffer because of high case-counts in the Lower Mainland.

鈥淚 think it makes a lot more sense to regionalize (the restrictions),鈥� said Mulgrew.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand why the province has to blanket it so much, especially when we have so little cases here. It is heavy-handed and poorly thought out.鈥�

While both establishments will remain open for now, Willoughby said 琉璃神社 is at a 鈥渢ipping point,鈥� at risk of losing some of its most iconic drinkeries.

鈥淭here are closures already happening (across the province),鈥� he said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e at a point where we鈥檙e employing our staff, not because we can afford to, but because we want to give them a job. We鈥檙e absorbing the losses right now. And you can only do that for so long.

鈥淚f things taper off any further, we could be forced to close, and it would be an indefinite closure until things improve.鈥�

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