The owner of a Wharf Street seafood restaurant says it was a “tremendous relief” to hear Tuesday that liquor distribution warehouses would be operating again, after the B.C. General Employees’ Union announced it was halting job action.
“I think that is just fantastic news,” said David Cooper, owner of Finn’s Seafood Chops and Cocktails at 1208 Wharf St., adding he had been making daily runs to the liquor store to keep the 350-seat restaurant stocked amid government-imposed rationing on sales.
“I was our delivery boy. I would go to the liquor store every single day and get our maximum allocation to keep us going. Luckily our inventories held, in combination with topping them up daily.”
Cooper said he’s looking forward to getting back to business as usual, noting many popular spirits were selling at a higher rate than they could be replaced. Although the restaurant had to switch brands a couple of times, it did not run out, Cooper said.
The BCGEU, which represents about 33,000 provincial government workers, said Tuesday it was standing down from two weeks of limited job action as hopes rise for a deal after contract talks resumed.
A statement from the union said its bargaining committee returned to the table with the province’s public service agency last Thursday and the two sides have made “significant progress” toward a tentative agreement.
The bargaining committee said it decided to end the job action, which had included picket lines at B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch locations and a ban on overtime, as a sign of good faith.
The union began limited job action on Aug. 15, with pickets outside distribution centres in Delta, Richmond and Kamloops along with the wholesale customer centre in Victoria, prompting the province to ration the quantity of certain alcohol products people could buy in a single transaction.
Liquor retailers had said supply of some products was running dry, while some cannabis stores that also get stock through the Liquor Distribution Branch have been shutting down.
Pickets did not come down quickly enough to prevent the Pineapple Express cannabis store on Esquimalt Road from closing while it waits for new products to be delivered.
The store, along with others in the sector, was allowed to approach private growers for supplies.
Sales rep Femi Bello said Pineapple Express is hoping to reopen next week after new product is delivered. Direct orders were placed this week.
Normally an order supplied through the distribution warehouse arrives every Wednesday. So far, there is no word on whether the order will come in next week, Bello said.
Dimitri Adamopolous, who owns Ithaka Greek Restaurant with his wife, Edith, is waiting for the distribution warehouses to reopen because a “massive” special order of high-end Greek wines is waiting for him. “That is what’s very frustrating.”
Like other owners, Adamopolous had been going to several liquor stores to buy liquor for the restaurant.
The restaurant industry has gone through tough times during the pandemic, he said, likening the experience to a roller coaster. Not all survived.
Ian Tostenson, chief executive of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said hearing that the BCGEU is taking down pickets outside liquor warehouses removes the “psychological pressure of the unknown” for B.C. restaurateurs.
Many operate without any financial cushion because any reserves they had were used up earlier in the pandemic, said Tostenson, who estimates it will take four to five weeks before the system is running normally again.
Tostenson said he hopes products liquor stores were running short on will start showing up again as soon as this week, prior to the long weekend.
Owners have been spending many hours trying to find enough liquor supplies for their restaurants and to stage booked events, and many have purchased more B.C.-produced products, he said.
The association had suggested to the union that it take down pickets at warehouses and is grateful it did so, said Tostenson, who had feared there would be “serious shortages” after the long weekend if pickets remained in place.
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