$250 million in liquor sales lost as b.c. hospitality sector warns of industry collapse due to bcgeu strike
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william donnellan, owner of donnellan's irish pub in downtown vancouver, speaks to the hospitality industry's struggles during the bcgeu strike.
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william donnellan has operated bars and pubs in two countries and weathered regulatory changes and a global pandemic. but he says the current bcgeu strike could be the crisis that breaks b.c.’s hospitality industry.
the ceo of the vancouver-based irl group, which operates seven food and drink establishments across the region, stood in one of his own locations friday and laid it out: for the past few weeks, his locations have had no vodka, no gin, no whisky. now, they have no guinness.
“half-a-million dollars in kegs of guinness we ordered are stuck at the port, and we couldn’t get a signature to get them released,” donnellan said. “there is no way that we can continue to operate like this. in a couple more weeks, more businesses will be bankrupt, even possibly us.”
donnellan’s remarks came following an emergency news conference held at his donnellan’s irish pub on granville street, where a coalition of six of the province’s largest liquor, wine and cannabis industry associations, representing approximately 10,000 businesses and 200,000 workers in b.c., came together to plead with the bcgeu to return to work.
“they’re just sick and tired of being a bargaining chip in an industry that has nothing to do with them,” said jeff guignard, ceo of wine growers b.c.. “they have no ability to solve it.”
cial doyle, a bartender at donnellan’s irish pub pours a pint of guinness beer in vancouver.
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now in its seventh week, the bcgeu strike has stopped alcohol distribution across the province, leaving pubs, restaurants and private retailers without critical inventory during one of their busiest times of the year. the b.c. liquor distribution branch — the province’s sole alcohol distributor for private businesses — has been effectively shut down. government-run liquor stores are also closed.
without access to alcohol orders placed months in advance, donnellan says his operations are grinding to a halt.
“normally at this time of year, we’d be stocking up for holiday sales and priming our shelves for the fifa tournament eight months away,” he said. “instead, we’re seeing inventory levels lower than anything we experienced even during covid. we’re cutting staff shifts and losing customers.”
he estimates his granville street pub has already lost thousands in sales.
donnellan’s situation is not unique. an industry-wide survey currently underway, conducted by the coalition, with over 500 businesses responding as of october 17, shows the extent of the damage.
seventy-six per cent of businesses are already cutting back staff. more than six per cent have laid off employees, and 29 per cent have slashed staff hours. if the strike continues, 41 per cent say further layoffs are expected.
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the fear of closure is growing across the sector. seventy-eight per cent of respondents say they are concerned they may have to shut down, with 40 per cent already reporting their business viability is at risk.
more than one in four operators report having at least $100,000 worth of liquor trapped in warehouses, unable to reach customers due to the stalled supply chain.
overall, the coalition estimates that the strike has already cost the b.c. sector more than $250 million in lost liquor sales.
cial doyle, a bartender at donnellan’s irish pub, pours a pint of guinness in vancouver on friday.
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ian tostenson, ceo of the b.c. restaurant and foodservices association, says a collapse has begun.
“we are already seeing bankruptcies,” tostenson said. “if the strike doesn’t stop within three weeks, it’s going to push our industry over the edge.”
ian tostenson, president ceo, b.c. restaurant foodservices association, along with industry professionals, speaks during a press conference highlighting the damage the bcgeu strike is having on the industry in vancouver.
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even if the strike ends tomorrow, he warned that the damage will have serious effects.
“there are going to be 8,000 to 9,000 outstanding orders all at once, each representing somewhere in the order of 6,000 to 7,000 cases of product. the system will collapse. we have told that to the government. there’s no way around it.
“if we don’t do something extraordinary to deal with this, we’re not going to see these shelves stocked probably until valentine’s day, if not longer.”
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the last time the bcgeu went on strike for two and a half weeks, tostenson said it took three months for the industry’s supply chain to return to normal.
“we’re going into week eight. if you project this, it’s almost believable to think that we could be at the edge of fifa.”
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