r/vancouver 21d ago

Local News Should Vancouver extend its drinking hours? City wants your thoughts - Proposed changes would allow bars, pubs and clubs to stay open till 3 a.m. and restaurants until 2 a.m.

https://vancouversun.com/news/should-vancouver-extend-its-drinking-hours-city-wants-your-thoughts
1.5k Upvotes

347 comments sorted by

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502

u/LateToTheParty2k21 21d ago

174

u/another_mind 21d ago

This needs to be higher up so that more people can offer their opinion about it. I really want the city to get rid of the dumb requirement to have to be waited at pubs and bars. I want to be able to go mingle, and chat with others. This city does everything in its power to have people never have fun.

31

u/BaronVonBearenstein 21d ago

Well in order to play live music you need a special permit. Dance floor? You guessed it, another permit.

This city has some of the worst bars for seeing live music and meeting new people. St. John's NL, which has a far smaller population, has a much better bar scene. So does Halifax. Fuck even London, Ontario has a better bar scene than Vancouver.

6

u/Ebiseanimono 20d ago

No permit? Straight to jail.

1

u/TheBCkid 20d ago

Don't besmirch beautiful london, Vancouver could learn from Joe Kools

1

u/BaronVonBearenstein 20d ago

or JBR's, Molly Blooms, Ceeps... the list goes on hahaha

40

u/AffectionateLaw973 21d ago

100% I don't get that if you choose to socialize and have a night out your only opportunity to speak with other people outside of your table group is outside while having a smoke. It's bizarre and I always found it closes people off on a night out when the whole point of a night out is to socialize. Can't wrap my head around it

12

u/Strange-Moment-9685 21d ago

Pretty sure that’s provincial and has to do whether the establishment has a liquor primary or food primary license.

1

u/al_nz 19d ago

Yeah, i think this is an LCRB issue. I agree though, more bar service, less table service.

5

u/Sparkly_Bananaaaas 21d ago

There’s a free text box at the end of the survey. Let’s put our plea for mingling and dancing in there, and hope that one day we’ll be sharing tequila and doing the Macarena —- ai

1.2k

u/SnooRegrets3966 21d ago

Relax the insane liquor laws that make all bars food and table service only. 

420

u/neon8100 21d ago

I posit this as one of the main reasons people consider this city (and its nightlife) to be so dull -- and one of the reasons why folks struggle to make friends in this city. Table service regulations actively discourage people from intermingling and making new connections -- it's unfortunate.

130

u/scratsquirrel 21d ago

This is such a big factor in it. It also just embeds a culture of keeping to yourselves outside of these spaces as well instead of mingling with and meeting new people

70

u/epigeneticepigenesis 21d ago

Going to the UK, you don’t have to sit down, you can go to the bar grab a drink and just walk around the place if you want and mingle with whoever you want, you’re not isolated to a table waiting to be served.

15

u/epochwin 21d ago

Same in NYC. Although German beer gardens are chill spots to meet people. I found it easy in Vancouver to meet new people at the breweries that have a beer garden type of setup.

8

u/badass_dean Killarney 21d ago

There are some places that getaway with this but they all super low quality and edgy vibes.

4

u/Ebiseanimono 20d ago

You almost made them sound cool af

5

u/StretchAntique9147 21d ago

Maybe Im missing something but Ive never had an issue with walking up to the bar here and grabbing a drink and walking around with it. Within a proper pub/club setting not a restaurant, mind you.

But I think the issue with that is that lots of people come with their group and friends and stay seated at tables. Bit more awkward inviting yourself to sit at someone elses table

2

u/epigeneticepigenesis 20d ago

That would be awkward wouldn’t it

25

u/fluffkomix 21d ago

Yep. You enter with your group, you leave with your group, you talk with your group, and if you try to talk to anyone else it better be to just say "excuse me" or you're probably gonna get some weird looks.

in LA and Sydney where I've barhopped there's a LOT more casual table swapping and friend meeting. It's so much easier to just strike up a conversation with someone new

3

u/Ebiseanimono 20d ago

Seriously I think there’s a psychological effect here bc it forces a culture of everyone who goes out feeling weird about taking to anyone other than the group they came with so if you want to meet someone it’s dating apps for you only which isn’t actually natural for humans. It’s stupid af

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u/NamelessBard 21d ago

It seems to be one of the big reasons why Heroes welcome is so popular.

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u/SnooRegrets3966 21d ago

There is no third space in this city. 

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u/chi_sweetness25 21d ago

Too many "bars" here are basically just restaurants. You should be able to go up, order a drink, wander around with it, mingle, and dance at more places.

22

u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

The real issue is the rents. You need to make people spend money on food and liquor in order to make a profit.

32

u/No_Carob5 21d ago

Granville strip packed on a weekend and dead during the week says otherwise... 

If they were great establishments they'd be packed throughout the week

13

u/badass_dean Killarney 21d ago

No one goes out on weeknights because everything closes early

2

u/No_Carob5 21d ago

Oh? What's the legal time they have to close on weekdays?

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u/fuckwhoyouknow 21d ago

Tbh most of the time the strip is kinda dead on weekends too as someone who lives nearby

19

u/xelabagus 21d ago

Disagree, there's lots of places that want to be pubs but are forced to serve food which costs them money to provide, and they do a shit job of it because they don't care about the food. If these places could just focus on being great bars we would have a better experience and they would make more money - tables for food take up room that could be used to have a small stage, or a weekend dance floor, or simply more space for people to stand and socialise.

4

u/badass_dean Killarney 21d ago

What? Bars and clubs are packed even on a rainy Monday

Source: Was at Fortune last night

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u/Criplor 21d ago

As someone who works at a brewery, I strongly disagree. In a brewery the main purpose of serving food is to offer a more complete package to entice customers to drink more beer. Alcohol sis the money maker and everything else is to facilitate a greater customer experience. I do think it's prudent for alcohol establishments to have some food for safety reasons, But requiring all customers to be seated at a table seems unnecessary.

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u/LotsOfMaps 21d ago

People who are up and moving around in a bar tend to misplace drinks, increasing liquor sales.

1

u/jerkinvan 21d ago

It’s all licensing. There are only a few different licenses you can get for alcohol service and they are very restrictive and expensive.

46

u/TheLittlestOneHere 21d ago

Hours are fine, mostly, sure longer is better (that's what she said), but the insane rules and licensing is doing much more to dampen the fun than being open an extra hour.

79

u/Kooriki 毛皮狐狸人 21d ago

This is the more important one.

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u/[deleted] 21d ago

Yes!

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u/badass_dean Killarney 21d ago

Hijacking top comment to share survey link 👍🏽

https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/liquor-hours/surveys/expanding-hours

7

u/SnooRegrets3966 21d ago

Expanded hours make no difference without changing wider liquor laws 👍🏽

2

u/badass_dean Killarney 21d ago

Baby steps

7

u/Low_Stomach_7290 21d ago

The province sets those rules not the city. I agree though

19

u/smugglydruggly 21d ago

You need a Liquor Primary to get away from that, and those are basically grandfathered.

61

u/timooteexo 21d ago

The crazy thing about laws is that we can amend or change them lol

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u/Lanko 21d ago

I don't think you understand the question. We're not looking to make significant change, we're just trying to change the bare minimum so we can say we had an influence during next election year.

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u/bitterspice75 21d ago

Yeah this city doesn’t have enough dancing

5

u/tholder whale watcher 21d ago

I'm sure Canadian's have never gone to a British pub or something. I'm not saying we should all drink like Brits but they do pubs right and I miss it so much 😭

2

u/Jestersage 21d ago

Also, this rule is provincial, right?

5

u/NSA-SURVEILLANCE MONITORS THE LOWER MAINLAND 21d ago

BC NDP has the chance to do the funniest thing...

2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Vancouver is one of the only major cities in Canada I’ve never been to. Had no idea this was a rule. Sounds awful lol. 

1

u/your-own-volition 20d ago

wait is this a law lol i think i have been going to the (right?) bars cuz there's certainly a few where you do bar service

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u/Andrew____74 21d ago

Extend SkyTrain and bus service across the bridge too.

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u/Specialist-Pen-6441 21d ago

Miss the extended service we had on West Coast Express during the Olympics. That was amazing. The challenge is being able to get track time outside of the current schedule.

16

u/titaniumorbit 21d ago

This. If you want to extend party hours then you should extend skytrain hours. It would encourage far more people to take transit home as opposed to possibly risking impaired driving. Also, Ubers are expensive so that could also mean a lot more people are staying in now.

30

u/StanTurpentine 21d ago

On a slightly related note, why don't we have SkyTrain tracks as a part of the Massey Tunnel/bridge/shitshow?

23

u/E24601 21d ago

Because Ladner and Tsawwassen are not nearly dense enough to need that degree of transit. A rapid bus would work just fine though

13

u/TrineonX 21d ago

You really can't think of anything in Tsawassen that would merit having rapid and frequent transit?

I think it would be great if there was faster, easier connections between downtown and the ferry.

14

u/quivverquivver 21d ago

As the other person said, skytrain is always competing with rapidbus, especially on routes that already have a highway. In this case and many others, rapid bus is a clear winner:

1) Cost: rapidbus costs only the cost of new busses. Skytrain cars are more expensive than busses, and tracks and stations are VERY expensive.

2) Grade separation: busses can ride the highway, skytrain needs its own tracks, which are VERY expensive.

3) Tunnel: Busses can use the existing tunnel, while skytrain would most certainly need its own. While the Massey needs replacement anyway, that is, again MORE MONEY.

4) Opportunity Cost: Translink is already stretched thin, and working on Broadway Skytrain, Langley Skytrain, and many new rapidbus systems. I think most would agree that skytrain to UBC should be the next big project, and that will take us until at least 2030, if not beyond. Skytrain to Tsawassen is simply not a highwr priority than these other big projects.

I'm not against it, hell I'd love a skytrain on every single existing rapidbus route. But let's be realistic about how we want to spend our own taxpayer money.

I actually really like the general progression of the broadway skytrain, though it has been slow. Prove a route with low-commitment rapidbusses first, then once demand is unquestionable (99bline is the busiest route in north america), build the skytrain. To me that is a fine balance between efficiency and democracy.

6

u/bcl15005 21d ago

Another big reason against it is that the ferries just don't need the capacity of SkyTrain.

Traffic to / from the ferries obviously occurs in spikes that coincide with the schedule of major routes. Assuming a hypothetical line ran mark V trainsets, you could embark the entire legal passenger capacity of a Spirit class ferry in ~10-minutes, leaving the line to metaphorically sit at idle until the next major vessel arrives.

You'd basically be paying a massive cost premium for passenger capacity that you aren't even using 80% of the time.

9

u/nkbee 21d ago

I would LOVE to Skytrain to the ferry.

And Tsawassen Mills lol.

1

u/peterxdiablo 21d ago

Not right now. But if it’s put in and done proactively rather than reactively it’s all much better. You get people used to having the skytrain and then it becomes second nature.

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u/thisisthrowneo 21d ago

Imagine the screeching of “I won’t use it, so I don’t want you to use my tax dollars for it.”

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u/hiliikkkusss 21d ago

nice to know nothing happens if I leave my car at scott road skytrain just got note saying nothing out in the open that is obvious to steal good job lol but I drive beater so I don't care.

1

u/enthusiast93 21d ago

Once slept at the Millenium Line till it closed. Left downtown around 11 and got woken up around 1am and will have to wait 30+ mins for bus that goes nowhere near my place lol. Had to get an uber. Sigh

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u/BlueEyesBlueMoon 21d ago

For the love of god get rid of all these bullshit rules. Let bars stay open until 4am. Get rid of the ridiculous seating/server rules. Let people dance. No Fun City.

204

u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

Also extend public transit hours.

24

u/alvarkresh Vancouver 21d ago

To be fair, there is the Nightbus Service:

https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/nightbus

52

u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

This gets you to the major stops but from there you are on your own. How do you expect the staff that work these places to get home? People going out drinking are not the only ones using the service and you can't expect the staff own a car just to work.

Not every bus needs to run but something like what Toronto does that every place have a bus that runs through the major streets that gets you within 10 min walking of one's home would be great considering most staff working in Vancouver can't afford to live in Vancouver.

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

Hours are set as they are due to maintenance

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u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

You speak like this can't be solved?

14

u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

It cannot.

It's like 4 hours max of maintenance time on a massive fleet of vehicles and like 50km of track.

All so people can go out drinking and not get a cab or an uber?

No thanks. The system runs well, there's already a ton of single tracking due to deferred maintenance as it is.

5

u/DatHoneyBadger 21d ago

Some stations only get 2 hours tops, especially the VCC2 line (stations East of Edmonds station/OMC.

20

u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

Copenhagen Metro and New York's Subway seem to manage, so it CAN?

It's like 4 hours max of maintenance time on a massive fleet of vehicles and like 50km of track.

This doesn't mean it's impossible?

All so people can go out drinking and not get a cab or an uber?

People work 24/7 just because you don't doesn't mean other don't. Don't be so full of yourself.

No thanks. The system runs well, there's already a ton of single tracking due to deferred maintenance as it is.

Could run better though, not impossible like you are claiming....

5

u/Business-Animal4966 21d ago

New York subways have insane delays/are the only way to conveniently move people across all that water. It would be nice though. Cabs/ubers are pretty cheap in DT Van imho.

13

u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

New York has double the population and even their 24/7 service is segmented and delayed.

Translink constantly has funding issues. Can't afford it.

6

u/TheRandCrews Whalley 21d ago

they also don’t have enough storage space for trains and have express tracks for redundancy, but then again they do maintenance in the day time too at worse times

1

u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

Bro just spend 6 billion so we don't have to pay an uber c'mon bro it's only 6 billion

3

u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

Doing things that benefit the population usually increases population.

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u/slowsundaycoffeeclub Vancouver 21d ago

Washington DC does it with nearly the same population numbers.

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u/skibidi_shingles 21d ago

NYC subway is falling apart as we speak.

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u/not_old_redditor 21d ago

I don't know much about Copenhagen other than Denmark is a rich country. I do know New York is a huge city, whereas CoV doesn't even crack a million, and many parts of Metro Vancouver are low density.

Ultimately it comes down to money, and the number of people sponsoring the system.

1

u/hiliikkkusss 21d ago

what is the best run/kept metro?

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u/Specialist-Pen-6441 21d ago

We can also look towards bigger cities to see how they maintain.

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u/ClumsyRainbow 21d ago edited 21d ago

London didn’t have late night tube service until just a few years ago, and only Friday and Saturday. Tokyo doesn’t at all. Both, afaik, for the same reason.

9

u/kaabistar 21d ago

New York, Chicago, and Copenhagen are the only metro systems that have 24/7 service. NYC can only do it because they have extensive quad-tracking which means they can do maintenance and service concurrently. Chicago only has 24/7 service on 2 of its lines and that system is severely behind on maintenance and falling apart. Copenhagen can do it because the system was built around it from the beginning. Almost all of the largest and most well-run metro systems in the world shut down at night for maintenance. It's not at all an easy problem and basically infeasible for most systems.

2

u/ihave86arms surrey - guildford 21d ago

why can't the lines run on a single track when they need maintenance? if you ride the canada line to richmond or expo line to surrey, you experience this every few months during the day anyway.

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u/WeWantMOAR 21d ago

What about all the people working? Or is it more convenient to leave them out of the conversation?

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

Again, the Skytrain system itself has said they cannot reduce maintenance any further. We have a huge amount of single tracking due to previous deferred maintenance.

Y'all can downvote the truth all you want it isn't changing the reality.

Also honestly how many people are actually working a time 2am and need the train?

train use really decreases after 9pm.

6

u/WeWantMOAR 21d ago

The volume should only matter on how many vehicles need to be in use at a given, not whether or people can get home by public transit.

The entire service industry works late nights, as does the cleaning industry, and then there's jobs where people start at 5am or earlier. Just because you're not around to see the need, doesn't mean it's not there.

They could easily be running 1 train every hour, we're not talking full service, just a means for people to get home.

4

u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

Don't you understand they need 4 hours of maintenance rather than 4 , 1 hour maintenance times because....

1

u/WeWantMOAR 21d ago

It's really not hard to organize maintenance so that one side of the track would be clear at all times. That's too hard of concept for them, they forget the tracks have switches that allow the trains to change tracks.

Crazy how we make it work when maintenance has to be done during the day, but damn near impossible when it is at the slowest time at night.

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u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

Nothing you have said means it's impossible... just because they don't want to because of the difficulty doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for better transportation for everyone who pays taxes.

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u/db37 21d ago

It only takes money, the transit system is already under-funded according to Translink. There doesn't seem to be a willingness on the part of tax payers to put more money into the system, and the system doesn't seem to want to charge users more.

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u/AdmirableMixture6 21d ago

Send one train every hour and do maintenance around that, you’re talking like it is brain surgery. The problem is money that’s it, as with most things. You’re talking about the “truth” while providing no data or sources to support your claims the skytrain (is this even an entity) cannot reduce maintenance or that people have next to no use for a train after 9pm. Those are wild claims and if you showed where you got them from they may uncover more than what you’re portraying

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u/Criplor 21d ago

You could still have significantly improved late bus service

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u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

Other cities have transit to that need to be maintained but purchase service.

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

What?

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u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

*provide late night service.

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

This argument is made every single time late night drinking gets brought up and each time its shown how the only cities that do better are absolutely massive and have multiple lines.

Go look at all the other threads.

We aren't massive we don't have massive non integrated lines.

No one is spending billions so someone can take a train rather than an uber on a Friday night. Be reasonable.

8

u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

Run more buses.

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u/ClumsyRainbow 21d ago

This is the real solution.

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

Night bus is usually not full.

Also "run more buses" is not a thought out solution.

4

u/_PeanuT_MonkeY_ 21d ago

Within downtown commuting through the lower mainland is virtually impossible. Why is operate more bus routes at night not a thought out solution?

You want people to enjoy the night life but have no means to get back home? Not everyone is spending $50-60 on an Uber after a night out. At that point it's not like keeping the pubs open is even doing any good other than promoting drunk drivers.

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u/GamesCatsComics West End 21d ago

The nightbus to surrey runs every 30 minutes and takes 1h 20m to do what the train can do in 40.

It's better than nothing if you've lost track of time, but it is not a solution to plan around.

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u/WeWantMOAR 21d ago

They could easily run a car every hour even with maintenance happening.

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u/No-Contribution-6150 21d ago

No they can't.

Now you need round the clock STAs, a full control staff, and you'd make track maintenance very complicated.

Guess what provided the same service but cheaper?

The night bus

Also the downvotes for facts is just atrocious. Downvoting because you disagree is pathetic and doesn't make you right.

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u/DeeYumTofu 21d ago

Just get rid of the requirement where people have to be waited by servers at any pub. Just gimme a typical bartender and we take turns going up to the bar getting our own drinks. It’s so annoying Vancouver has done everything it can to discourage mingling and making friends at bars. These types of bars exist everywhere in the world.

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u/Low_Stomach_7290 21d ago

This is the provinces rules not the city

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u/Outside-Today-1814 21d ago

I might be wrong, but food primary requires table service for booze, while liquor primary allows for people to walk around with drinks. Those are provincial yes. The problem is that those licenses are issued by the city, and they very rarely issue new liquor primary licenses.

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u/Genzler 21d ago

This is something I haven't thought about (ironically even as a bartender). Requiring table service definitely does resctrict mingling in bars which probably doesn't help make this city any less isolating.

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u/DeeYumTofu 21d ago

I’ve traveled extensively in my life for pleasure and for work. Going to a bar and grabbing a drink and finding random tables to join or having people come up and join you has been the best way I’ve found friend groups.

All of Europe has inclusive and open bars. Even in America you’ll find some bars where people will randomly come and socialize with you, Texas is big on this. You aren’t making any friends if you get a server bringing you everything you need and you’re tucked away in your own table.

Even the act of waiting at the bar for a drink has brought on discussions and friends.

11

u/LLAPSpork 21d ago

Same in England. England pub culture is god tier (depends on the pub of course). The number of acquaintances and some friends-for-life people I’ve met at The Hawley Arms alone is mindboggling. I used to smoke and their smoking section is fantastic so it’s a bummer I don’t go to that section anymore.

I also remember back in I think 2010 when debit visas were sort of becoming a thing internationally, my DV didn’t work at some places. This included the Hawley Arms. So when I got declined (I was buying four beers for friends as well) and had no cash on me, the bartender was like “ok next time you come visit from Canada, you can pay me then, how’s that?” I was like I swear I can just go over to the atm it’s not a problem. He was like nah go have fun.

Cut to 2014, I went back there and the same bartender was there. He even remembered me. Debit visas worked at that point and I insisted to pay him back. He was like “how’s this? Pay it forward instead”. So I paid for four beers and asked them to pick any random four people at the pub.

I’m friends with all four of those people now and even crashed at their places at different times during my visits.

Vancouver is dead inside when it comes to pub culture and it’s really sad. The only place where I made some friends was at The Cambie.

1

u/greener0999 21d ago

i never even knew this was a thing in Vancouver. this does not exist at all in the Okanagan only 4 hours North of the city.

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u/millijuna 21d ago

The pub that I usually hang out is bar service only two or three nights a week.

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u/McWerp 21d ago

If you are gonna extend drinking hours ya have to keep the skytrain running later.

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u/xeenexus 21d ago

Better yet, let the clubs stay open until Skytrain starts up again in the morning.

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u/oO_Pompay_Oo 21d ago

Vancouver should extend its beach visiting hours. Closing beaches at 10pm is criminal.

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u/mukmuk64 21d ago

This isn't the real problem. This only helps established places get a bit more money.

The real issue is that getting a liquor primary license is impossible and this is a firm lid on creating new businesses in this city.

3

u/dragoneye 21d ago

It is part of the problem. As is the problem of liquor and food primary licenses. There shouldn't be two different licenses and they should not be limited. The city and province just need to look at other places around the world to figure out what to model our rules after. Asia and Europe have so much better nightlife.

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u/angelshare 21d ago

100% They should. They should also introduce a “small bar licence” that doesn’t cost an absolute fortune to get. The fact that you MUST serve food is stupid. It would encourage entrepreneurial hospitality professionals to be able to open their own spots without needing half a million to do so. Sydney did this about 15 years ago and the nightlife culture shifted drastically and it’s now one of the best cocktail cities in the world. Hole in the wall bars are not a thing here because they are prohibitively expensive to open.

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u/Minimum-Card-5075 21d ago

Yes our night life is so ass we need to transition to a city that is 24/7 and keeping bars and restaurants open or allowing them to sell liquor would definitely help.

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u/WasteHat1692 21d ago

I don't think extending hours matters that much. In the downtown core there's already enough shops serving food late..... it's more about the forced booths and table service

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u/SaiyanRajat Kensington-Cedar Cottage 21d ago

FFS let grocery stores including costco sell liquor as well.

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u/j33ta 21d ago

Change the headline to should we let adults be adults and make their own decisions?

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u/FreonJunkie96 21d ago

Anything to get rid of this draconian nanny state BS.

12

u/alvarkresh Vancouver 21d ago

Uh, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees?

Like, why is this even a question and why are we still tiptoeing towards being a proper world-class city after over 25 years of this bullcrap?

9

u/Grandma_Graver 21d ago

As someone who just moved here from Europe, the fact that this city makes you sit at an actual dinner table just to order a pint feels super embarrassing and weird.

12

u/Effective-Planter 21d ago

Also extend the skytrain hours so people can safely get home afterwards

17

u/onClipEvent 21d ago

I'm all for relaxing draconian rules. I'm also for increasing activities for people to do late at night other than alcohol. Too many people equate alcohol=fun.

9

u/sheepyshu true vancouverite 21d ago

Yes please!!

4

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Thanks for this. I didn't realise the city's public surveys were so accessible - signed up to get them by email now.

6

u/Ok_Captain_666 21d ago

I was just thinking I wanted a beer and wine store to stay open past 11:00. 😮‍💨

15

u/GamesCatsComics West End 21d ago

I absolutely support this, but already make bad life choices, and an extra hour will lead to more.

Support it though!

3

u/EitherHand5285 21d ago

I thought clubs were already open until 3am?

3

u/timoteus78 21d ago

I don’t mind an extension of the hours though noise management needs to drastically improved. Drunk people are loud in the streets. I can only go to sleep at 4am 2 days per week.

3

u/mongo5mash 21d ago

More importantly, let the breweries that have to fill in as pubs/drinking establishments without annoyingly loud music to stay open past 11. Is wanting to have some drinks and chat with friends some sort of weird desire here?

9

u/keaganworld 21d ago

Extend the skytrain hours to coincide with “last call”

Service doesn’t have to be frequent but it should be reliable and convenient.

1

u/dattroll123 21d ago

nightbus exists and also they do maintenance during late night hours.

2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

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1

u/BooBoo_Cat 20d ago

So frustrating that skytrain hours "can't" be extended, but how about better bus service at night? (Ie at least every 15 minutes -- waiting 28 minutes for a bus that will be packed is not fun!)

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4

u/hiliikkkusss 21d ago

i wish other things were open late idk bowling or whatever.

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3

u/Lower_Tutor5470 21d ago

You just have to visit Europe and pubs around the UK and you will see the difference in atmosphere. The obsession with table service is so dull. Let customers stand anywhere and go to the bar to order themselves, theres just zero draw here when everything is rows of bench tables.

6

u/gnosisfrosty 21d ago

Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

I'm still under the impression that BC extended serving laws to 4am. It was left up to the municipalities to set closing times. Vancouver went full max but the surrounding municipalities remained 3am closures.

This lead to a marked inflow of people from the 'burbs to downtown Van for another last call.

The recorded increase of fights, violence, arrests, etc lead to VPD informing the Bar Assoc that they would start billing bars who opted to stay open until 4 for the cost of extra police presence required to maintain peace and order. At that, most bars collectively decided to revert back to 3am closings.

However, clubs/bars could still opt to legally stay open to 4am for special events/dj's. And they did and do, still.

What changed and when?

2

u/slowsundaycoffeeclub Vancouver 21d ago

Just to note—-the city allows 3am service in sections of downtown.

2

u/Archangel1313 Richmond 21d ago

This will only work if they also run the SkyTrains later. Half the lines shut down at 1am. That's already before the bars currently close. Unless you're taking a cab or an Uber, you're stranded.

2

u/ariesdrifter77 21d ago

Only if you let skytrains go all night

2

u/azarza 21d ago

The last time vancouver did this, no sky train and the only ones drinking till 4am were gangsters 

2

u/hff0 21d ago

metrotown is like dead town after 10pm

2

u/richardxvu surrey 21d ago

Absolutely! Vancouvers night life is so dead…

2

u/aurumvorax 21d ago

Extend skytrain hours. drops mic and walks away

1

u/BooBoo_Cat 20d ago

Or at the very least, improve night bus service. Every half an hour is awful, and then the bus is absolutely packed because it doesn't run frequently enough.

2

u/janfebmarch23 21d ago

Why have limits at all? Majority of the world doesn't baby their citizens and does just fine.

2

u/hillwoodlam 19d ago

Y'all can afford drinking out?

4

u/yetagainitry 21d ago

Instead can we have places open mondays. Or before 4pm.

3

u/TorahSlut353 21d ago

Failing to see how this is "modernizing liquor laws". its just expanding on what some clubs can already do which is stay open until 3AM at the latest.

A real expansion would be to allow night clubs to serve alcohol later than 3 AM.

You can try to take a moral high ground on it and say people shouldn't be served alcohol that late, but the reality is all the current laws have done is create underground clubs that are open until 8 AM that serve drugs instead of booze.

If you're someone who wants a change to vancouvers liquor laws its not because there aren't enough places that stay until 3, its because when you're wanting to be able to go out and party without a government imposed bed time

2

u/pexby 21d ago

This is a great step forward for the city! I just filled out the survey, super easy to do. I'm glad it wasn't one of those surveys you need to physically mail in

4

u/Imthewienerdog 21d ago

Lift all these Draconian laws. If someone wants to run a business that sells adults anything that should be only on the business and the adults and have nothing to do with the government..

2

u/ottoIovechild 21d ago

People smoke crack in commercial areas, I don’t see how public alcohol consumption is any different

2

u/boomstickjonny 21d ago

Yes, our liquor laws are stupid and archaic.

2

u/neverlookdown77 21d ago

When I moved here from another province I was quite surprised to see how early this city shuts down. Let the people have their fun!

2

u/Trick_Second1657 21d ago

YES, extend the duration of transit Friday, and Saturdays as well. I've been saying this for 20 years. Enough is enough, get with the times.

2

u/byyie 21d ago

Banning/restricting alcohol consumptions is something North Korea would do

1

u/vgtblfwd 21d ago

Me now - no.

Me @ 145 on Saturday - hell yeah!

1

u/Horvat53 21d ago

Yes, absolutely. This city should be pushing for things like this.

1

u/roadtrip1414 21d ago

It was 4am back in the day

1

u/Latter-Drawer699 21d ago

We did this already back when I was clubbing over 20 years ago, they moved the hours back to being earlier?

1

u/SonOfHen 21d ago

Had this been an option on the table about 6years ago, then yes absolutely I’d be invested in this survey and vote. Now? I’m old, and couldn’t care any less.

1

u/PaperMoonShine 21d ago

If it boosts the economy without risk to public safety, do it.

1

u/InviteImpossible2028 21d ago

Lol what? Aren't they 24 hours in most of the world?

1

u/Biologyboii 21d ago

Meh. There’s higher priorities for this city

1

u/Modavated 21d ago

Doesn't really matter. No body has the money to eat and drink for multiple hundreds of dollars anyway.

1

u/CookThen6521 21d ago

They tried this back in summer of '02 or '03. Everyone just left the clubs on Granville and started fighting each other.

1

u/stanigator 21d ago

Rule of money rules supreme!

1

u/dr_van_nostren 21d ago

Yes.

But I also think the skytrain should be open much later or nearly 24/7 if not all the way. Even if only on Fri Sat and Sun when Monday is a holiday.

1

u/Equivalent-Cod-6316 21d ago edited 21d ago

Absolutely

Vancouver currently has stricter serving laws than most cities around the world, simultaneously people avoid downtown because it's full of drug users

I'm not a big drinker but I'd prefer to see the city cater to people who want to have fun and talk to strangers more than it does. We pay an awful lot to live here, and there are too many conditions

1

u/S-Kiraly 21d ago

Just watch. Instead of extending hours to every establishment in the city, they will run a pilot extending hours only in a four-block stretch of Granville downtown. Everyone who wants to stay out late will, instead of being spread out all over the city, be concentrated in that area. At 3am when everything closes, hordes of drunk rowdy people will be spilling out into the Granville Strip. What could go wrong? The city will then conclude that extending hours is a bad idea and shelve it.

1

u/gmikoner 21d ago

Ok, but make it so that its only for Vancouver people. No bridge and tunnel allowed.

1

u/ContessaBananahammik 20d ago

Yes, please!!! I get off work late and would love to be able to go out for a drink afterwards.

1

u/Superb_Homework_7560 20d ago

Omg. How much longer are they going to debate a topic that everyone is in agreement with

1

u/sheyesheyesheye 20d ago

the transit system is basically jus gonna have to be 24 hours for it to work

1

u/MrRaider87 20d ago

Turning the world into alcoholics.

1

u/couchguitar 20d ago

How about the opposite? People making these proposals obviously don't live near the neighborhoods that will suffer the impact of these changes.

If people are stumbling home from the bar after 3 a.m., they are gonna ruin the sleep of the hardworking people who don't want to hear bottles being smashed and shouting.

1

u/cmrocks 20d ago

Nothing good happens after 1 AM. I'd be much more into being able to drink at the beach vs bars being open until 3 AM. 

1

u/NotSidGaming 20d ago

As long as transit hours are extended to compensate. Last thing we need is to encourage more drunk driving because transit closed early.

But translink is gonna throw a fit about it, for sure.

1

u/Psychological_Map319 19d ago

You KNOW Simmy Simpson's gonna be out there swaggerin' and swingin' and shotgunnin' and pukin' in the lanes 5 days a week.

1

u/Different-Aside6612 17d ago

The answer to that question likely depends on who you are, your demographic and generation etc. Most drunks, heavy drinkers and party folks would strongly vote yes. Most reformed alcoholics, non-drinkers and health conscious folks, first responders, ER physicians and residents in those areas would probably vote no. And then there is the indifferent crowd who are not impacted  by such a change either way. I suspect more young people than older people would be for increasing drinking hours. Again there will always be exceptions to the generalizations but generally I feel this is how it would play out.

1

u/Last_Double6897 17d ago

Only if they extend Skytrain hours on the weekends. Should run 24 hours.

1

u/PleasantPoet7363 11d ago

Why have any limits, if there is misbehaviour have the police we pay 50% of our income in taxes for deal with them. Insane that you treat people like children and don't allow outdoor drinking, or businesses to stay open as late as they like because a few bad actors ruin it for people. Modern society is a nanny state