Hospitality & Liquor – What We Have Been Up To…..

Just a quick update on what we have been doing on the Hospitality & Liquor side what we provide:

The run up to Ski Season (and to Summer) is always busy with Resorts, and their nearby communities gearing up for their busy season – Likewise with us, This is when we do a lot of our presentations to incoming staff that serve to highlight best practice; and how to ‘stay out of trouble’ while protecting licences and employers.

As the New Year begins we have also been helping businesses add new outdoor areas, as it takes a few months to have these in place for Summer; assisting licensees transfer liquor licences; securing changes to existing licences for retail stores; and supporting several clients as the navigate BC and Local Government processes achieve the outcomes they need for their business.

Some of the most interesting challenges have been securing approval for Liquor Licence applications that are more out of the ordinary: LCRB has been encouraging Junior A Hockey Clubs who serve liquor at their games to have their home Arenas licensed as Liquor Primary facilities, rather than use a series of Special Event Permits. There are many benefits for them to do so, but Liquor Policy does create some hurdles; and we have been exploring every option to achieve the desired outcomes where Hockey Clubs are tenants of Local Government owned arenas, and the owners do not wish to become licensees, preferring that their tenants do so.

Securing approval for (we believe) the first relocation of an operational Rural Liquor Retail Store Licence in BC, was certainly a highlight for 2024 – This allowed a General Store in a rural community to quickly relocate to a larger premises, offering a wider range of services to they community. This is not something that happens often; and we are currently working on another ‘first’ for the Province in the Shuswap, which we hope to see successfully concluded in the coming months – More on that to come…….

If you need assistance with any liquor licence related issues; or for information on how to protect your licensed business from Government enforcement within BC, please message us on this platform, or e mail : [email protected]

We look forward to hearing about your projects…….