City restaurants plan to uncork bring-your-own-wine option
SLGA rule changes
REGINA — Now that provincial regulations allow it, some Saskatoon restaurants say they will offer bring-your-own-wine service to customers — along with a corkage fee.
“It will be up to the individual business’s discretion as to what they want to charge for that corkage fee and up to their discretion and decision whether or not they want to even offer that service,” Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority Minister Donna Harpauer said Tuesday.
Dan Walker, owner of Weczeria Food and Wine in Saskatoon, said his restaurant will allow customers to bring their own wine.
“It’s a part of every restaurant that you have around the world that the liquor laws are kind of up to date and it’s good for people to be able to do that,” he said.
“We only sell Canadian wine. We have a very specific wine list, and some people don’t like that and they don’t want to dine with us because of it. It’s better that people can now come in and go, ‘Oh, I can bring my own wine in,’ ” he added.
Walker said his restaurant will charge a corkage fee of $25 per bottle, which he said is comparable to rates in other Canadian cities.
“I think you’ll have some of the other kind of higher-end places here not do it because they feel it’s taking away from them making money … which is untrue, because everybody will make money from it,” he added.
Curtis Korchinski, owner and operator of The Ivy Dining and Lounge, said his restaurant will allow patrons to bring their own wine, but hasn’t yet determined the corkage fee.
“We really applaud the efforts by SLGA to step up and update their policies. It’s nice to see that they’re thinking more progressively and we’re now trying to catch up to where the rest of the world is at. We were very happy with all of the changes they announced,” he said.
“It will open up a new piece of the market to people that now will go out and dine if they’re bringing their own wine,” Korchinski added.
“If they’re like a huge wine snob or if they have a really special bottle from a special occasion that they’re saving or if they’re looking at it as a cost-savings measure, I think it will just create an incentive to increase traffic to restaurants.”
Bringing your own wine was one of 37 changes to SLGA rules that the government announced were coming into effect on Tuesday. The changes are among 77 updated liquor regulations that were announced last fall.
The first 39 changes were implemented in May as a result of policy changes made internally by SLGA. The latest 37 changes required legislative and regulatory amendments, according to a government media release.
“We’re very pleased to see these changes finally come into effect — they’ve been a long time coming,” Greg Hanwell, partner at Beer Bros. Gastropub and Deli in Regina, said in the release.
“One of the changes — being able to off-sale specialty beer — is something our customers have been requesting for a long time, so we’re happy we’ll be able to offer that service.”
Other changes now going into effect include allowing salons and spas to apply for a permit to sell and serve alcohol to customers purchasing a service, reduced record keeping requirements for U Brew and U Vin operators, who will also have the option to offer delivery service to their customers, and allowing liquor-permitted establishments to open at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays and holidays, as well as other days of the week.
One change that has yet to come into effect will allow striptease and wet clothing contests at liquor-permitted establishments. That will come in on Jan. 1, delayed as result of a request by the City of Saskatoon and interest from the City of Regina in enacting related bylaws first, Harpauer said.
“I think we should give the municipalities the opportunity to have their discussions and put bylaws in place where they want to have, perhaps, zoning for certain types of adult entertainment,” she added.