After a month of new liquor restrictions issued by the government of British Columbia, Kelowna 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乌鸦传媒檛 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.

Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Social 242 Lounge and Grill on downtown Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 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.

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

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e noticing our 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. customers are showing up, but our normal 9 p.m. customers just aren乌鸦传媒檛 because there乌鸦传媒檚 really no point to come for just one hour.乌鸦传媒�

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乌鸦传媒檙e currently allowed to stay open until 11 p.m.

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

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

乌鸦传媒淚t certainly got a strong response,乌鸦传媒� he said, adding Doc Willoughby乌鸦传媒檚 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.

乌鸦传媒淚 feel really bad for my staff. They乌鸦传媒檙e in a really hard position. Almost all of them are looking for second jobs now. There hasn乌鸦传媒檛 been any action from the province in regards to helping out the hospitality industry.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e already had one staff member leave because they had to find more hours.乌鸦传媒�

While Doc乌鸦传媒檚 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.

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

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.

乌鸦传媒淲ith the curfew right now we乌鸦传媒檙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乌鸦传媒檙e my family I want to make sure they乌鸦传媒檙e looked after as best as possible.乌鸦传媒�

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

乌鸦传媒淲e could stay open until 2 a.m. selling hotdogs 乌鸦传媒� but it doesn乌鸦传媒檛 make any sense,乌鸦传媒� Willoughby said. 乌鸦传媒淗ow many hotdogs do you have to sell to keep the lights on?乌鸦传媒�

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乌鸦传媒檛 have to suffer because of high case-counts in the Lower Mainland.

乌鸦传媒淚 think it makes a lot more sense to regionalize (the restrictions),乌鸦传媒� said Mulgrew.

乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 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.乌鸦传媒�

While both establishments will remain open for now, Willoughby said Kelowna is at a 乌鸦传媒渢ipping point,乌鸦传媒� at risk of losing some of its most iconic drinkeries.

乌鸦传媒淭here are closures already happening (across the province),乌鸦传媒� he said.

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

乌鸦传媒淚f things taper off any further, we could be forced to close, and it would be an indefinite closure until things improve.乌鸦传媒�

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