Dan Fumano: Vancouver looks to continue liberalizing liquor laws

Vancouver council is considering the city’s first-ever applications for a new kind of licence enabling something that would seem completely unremarkable in many cities around the world: an establishment that serves food during the day, then shuts down the kitchen in the evening to become a bar.

It is the latest of Vancouver’s efforts to liberalize rules governing alcohol and the hospitality industry. In recent years, City Hall has explored legal drinking in parks and beaches, sanctioned booze-friendly public plazas, and make temporary pandemic-era expanded patios permanent. These measures are often popular, but officials caution they need to be balanced against public health and safety concerns.

On Wednesday, Vancouver council will consider three “dual licence” applications, from Cinema Public House and Cold Tea, both on the Downtown Granville strip, as well as Hamburger Mary’s in Davie Village.

B.C.’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulations Branch legalized dual licences back in 2017, allowing food-primary establishments to apply for a liquor-primary licence at the same location, which would allow operating as a bar or nightclub after a certain point in the evening.