B.C. restaurants, alcohol importers relieved over tentative deal in public service strike

B.C. restaurants and alcohol importers are breathing a sigh of relief as striking public service workers announced a tentative deal with the province on Sunday.

The B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) announced they had reached a mediated deal with the government, nearly eight weeks after a strike began on Sept. 2.

One of the more impactful public agencies that was shuttered by the strike was the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), the provincial agency responsible for the wholesale distribution and retail sale of alcoholic beverages.

Now, even as restaurateurs and alcohol retailers are happy over the strike's potential resolution, they're looking to deal with a bumpy start to the holiday season as the alcohol taps come back on.

"I think a relief probably is the first thing," said Stacy Kyle, executive director of the Import Vintners & Spirits Association, when asked for her reaction to the tentative deal.

"Of course, this isn't a done deal, you know, per se," she added. "But we're happy that there's been some kind of resolution."

Kyle says the strike's potential end couldn't have come any faster, as alcohol importers look forward to the holiday season, where she says up to 50 per cent of the entire years' sales happen.

But she noted that the last time a BCGEU strike hit the LDB in 2022, a two-week long job action led to alcohol supply backlogs for a couple of months.

Ian Tostenson, the CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), said his members had to get creative and order directly from local producers over the course of the strike.

But now, he says every single retailer and restaurant in the province would start placing orders with the LDB as soon as picket lines came down Monday.

"In our view, the system is going to collapse," he said. "And so we've been trying to work with government and the BCGEU to say, look, how do we create a plan that has never been done before in B.C. to resupply this marketplace?

"We can't wait months. It has to be done within weeks because we don't want to miss, obviously, the holiday season."

In a statement on Monday, the BCRFA said it was co-ordinating 15 large "hospitality hubs" with the LDB to allow restaurants and hospitality operators to buy top-selling spirits, liqueurs and imported wines.

The hubs are located at large B.C. Liquor Stores throughout the province. Hospitality operators were encouraged to contact their nearest hub to confirm product availability.