Bert Hick, Founder and President of Rising Tide Consultants was inducted into the BCRFA Hall of Fame 2023 on Monday, October 23rd. Bert was given the inductee designation of Friend of the Industry. This special recognition award is presented from time to time to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the hospitality industry in British Columbia

“I am honoured to have the recognition of being inducted into the BCRFA Hall of Fame 2023 as a “Friend of Industry.” Thank you to the BCRFA for this incredible evening celebrating true industry leaders and I send my sincere congratulations to all of the inductees!” 

About the BCRFA Hall of Fame

An initiative of the British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association, the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame is a celebration of the people and the restaurants that make our industry world class. Since 2004, the innovation and dedication of outstanding individuals has been celebrated through their admission into the only Restaurant Hall of Fame in Canada.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.bcrfa.com/hall-of-fame-1

We are sharing some important information with you that the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch sent out October 18, 2023.

Rising Tide is strongly opposed to this initiative at this time when our Industry is faced with so many other challenges. If you would like guidance with how to set your Food Primary establishment up for success in the face of this new action, please reach out to us. We are here to help!

Read the LCRB communication here:

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UPDATED INFORMATION FROM THE LCRB OCTOBER 24, 2023:

• The LCRB recognizes most Food Primary (FP) licensees are already operating in compliance with their licenses.
• The purpose of the LCRB’s previous communication was to provide operators with essential information to help review their operations and ensure that their business decisions align with the compliance requirements of their licence type.
• The LCRB is committed to supporting all operators in maintaining compliance and making informed business choices that benefit their establishments.
• The LCRB will employ a wide variety of criteria to inform the program and where inspections take place, considering factors like entertainment, advertising, customer complaints, and other relevant aspects of FP operations.
• It’s important to note that banquets and events like weddings are not within the scope of this inspection program. This initiative primarily focuses on the day-to-day operations of Food Primary (FP) establishments.
• The inspection program is designed to work collaboratively with licensees, offering support and guidance to help ensure compliance. Enforcement action may be initiated for egregious instances of non-compliance or where other efforts have not achieved voluntary compliance.

Rising Tide Consultants is proud to be a member of the Hospitality Sector Working Group and is happy to share this News Release from the City of Vancouver documenting the progress to date. We will continue to act on behalf of our clients to ensure real change is occurring in the best interest of the industry.

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City of Vancouver

News Release

October 3, 2023

Hospitality Sector Working Group quick wins and strategic priorities propel industry forward

Less than three months since the City established the Hospitality Sector Working Group, it has become a catalyst for innovation and collaboration, spearheading important changes by breaking down barriers and streamlining processes. 

“The hospitality sector is a cornerstone of our city’s economy,” says Mayor Ken Sim. “I am proud of our proactive approach to listening and responding to the sector’s needs. We’re here to listen, learn, and work hand in hand with the industry. Together with industry leaders, we are removing barriers and creating a more supportive and prosperous environment for local businesses while enhancing the experience for residents and visitors.”

The City has made significant strides in implementing recommendations from the working group, such as simplifying processes so businesses can focus on innovation and growth. These include:

1. Streamlined liquor licensing: businesses can now submit development permits and liquor licensing applications together as concurrent applications. 
2. Simplified business licencing process for restaurants: applications for a new restaurant business licence can now be submitted at the same time as a development permit and liquor licensing applications.
3. Enhanced occupancy load process: floor plans can now be submitted with seating calculations to determine occupancy load, allowing fire occupancy load permits and development permits to be approved simultaneously.

“Having a direct link between industry, Council, and City staff allows us to quickly implement smart, innovative solutions to support Vancouver’s hospitality industry,” said Jeff Guignard, Executive Director of BC’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees—an association representing BC’s pubs, bars, nightclubs, and private liquor stores. “Our focus in the coming months will be to find practical and meaningful solutions to reduce red tape, cut costly delays, and give industry the tools it needs to prosper.”

In consultation with the working group, the City will be actively exploring creative solutions to enhance Vancouver’s hospitality scene, including restaurants, bars and pubs, breweries and distilleries, and tourism-related services. 

“Vancouver’s hospitality sector is an integral part of both the economic and cultural fabric of our city, and the establishment of the hospitality working group indicates a much needed focus and prioritization of the industry,” said Hospitality Vancouver Association (HVA) spokesperson Laura Ballance. “The membership of HVA is looking forward to working in a collaborative nature with City officials and staff on issues facing the sector.” 

Among the priorities identified for future work, the working group will help inform the City’s ongoing efforts, including:

1. Identifying opportunities to streamline and resolve provincial and municipal liquor licensing timelines.
2. Exploring options to reduce or remove distancing requirements for liquor establishments to increase opportunities for new and existing businesses.
3. Reviewing the City’s year-round patio program to support a vibrant restaurant scene in Vancouver.
4. Evaluating options to simplify regulations related to tasting lounges at breweries and distilleries so that businesses have clarity and can better promote their brand.

“We’ve had some remarkable quick wins, but there’s still lots of work to do,” says Andrea Law, General Manager of Development and Business Licensing. “Together with the working group, the City is committed to finding practical solutions to challenges faced by businesses in the hospitality sector. Our approach to collaboration is grounded in deep respect for the many local entrepreneurs and businesses that form Vancouver’s diverse hospitality scene.”  

The City will provide updates on the working group through a designated Hospitality Sector Working Group web page, which also hosts valuable resources for business owners.

New City of Vancouver hospitality working group to address longstanding policy issues

“I am very pleased to see that the City of Vancouver is committed to real change for the hospitality industry. It is an honour to be a part of this working group and I look forward to the collaborative effort to streamline processes and eliminate costly delays. We are all committed to seeing progress and advancement with antiquated laws and regulations that need to be updated. I wish to thank Mayor Ken Sim and the Vancouver City Councillors for their support in taking a hard look at longstanding policy issues that have challenged so many of our clients.” – Bert Hick, President & Founder – Rising Tide Consultants

For Immediate Release
June 14^th, 2023

Vancouver, BC – On Friday, Mayor Ken Sim was joined by members of Vancouver City Council and representatives from the hospitality sector to announce the creation of a new City of Vancouver hospitality sector working group.

“With today’s announcement of a new hospitality working group, we have an opportunity to help create a better, more vibrant, and prosperous future for our local economy,” said Councillor Lisa Dominato. “We’ve heard a clear demand for policy change from local businesses and this working group is an important first step.”
 
The working group is a City-staff led initiative, overseen by the Development, Building, and Licensing department. Its members include city staff and representatives from the hospitality sector. The working group’s goals are to identify, adjust, and eliminate red tape that present challenges to businesses in the sector.

“The hospitality sector is critical to the local economy,” continued Dominato. “That’s why the City is inviting members of the hospitality industry to participate in this collaborative working group, with a clear goal of making life easier for our local businesses.

While certain recommendations from the working group may require Council approval, the direct link between industry and City staff will allow policy change to occur at a faster rate.

“Vancouver is open for business and its time for our City to lose its “no fun” reputation once and for all,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. “We all want to see these businesses succeed and we want the City of Vancouver to play a big role in helping make that happen.”
 
The working group has informally met once already and will continue to meet throughout the summer with the goal of providing an update in the Fall on progress being made.

Media Contact:

Taylor Verrall

Director of Communications, Office of the Mayor

604-404-5651

taylor.verrall@vancouver.ca

Bert Hick, a liquor and cannabis licensing expert who heads Rising Tide Consultants, said he is “saddened” by the news and fears for the whole hospitality industry.

“A lot of it was COVID,” said Hick, but it’s also labour shortages, rising costs and the looming payback of pandemic financial supports from the federal government.

“It’s a bit of a perfect storm,” said Hick. “The hospitality industry is very, very fragile right now. My prediction is you’re going to hear more horror stories in the coming months” with the COVID relief payments coming due at the end of the year.

The Donnelly Group, which owns pubs and clubs that are fixtures in Vancouver’s nightlife and hospitality industry, is filing for creditor protection.

The Vancouver-based company, which operates more than a dozen pubs, clubs and restaurants in Vancouver and Toronto under the Freehouse Collective, said Wednesday it has started proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to revise the terms of existing loans and restructure debt it needed to take on to survive COVID-19.

The Donnelly Group has opted to initiate the creditor protection process to restructure to avoid closing locations and laying off employees, said company founder and CEO Jeff Donnelly.

“We could have gone one of two directions. We could have, frankly, just closed a bunch of our businesses and just stuck with the real winners, and we would have been OK,” Donnelly said Wednesday. “But we might have lost half of our workforce. And when you’ve got 800 employees, that just wasn’t an option for us.

“This is what we need to do to keep these places open, so we’re going to do it,” Donnelly said. “We’re going to come out stronger than we were before.”

In a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the company asked the court to appoint Ernst & Young as a monitor over its affairs as it works out a restructuring plan with its creditors.

The petition involves 12 pubs, cocktail clubs and restaurants in Vancouver — including the Lamplighter, Butcher & Bullock, and Brass Fish — and two in Toronto, as well as three Barber & Co barbershops, Bomber Brewing in East Vancouver, and a company that handles the cleaning of the hospitality venues.

In total, 750 people are employed in Freehouse’s hospitality venues, 40 at Bomber Brewing, and 25 at Barber & Co.

A retail cannabis business also owned by Donnelly, called Lightbox and doing business as Dutch Love, is subject to separate insolvency proceedings, after applying for creditor protection late last year.

The company said the move was necessary to survive the crippling economic impact wrought by the pandemic on the hospitality industry.

It will work on a restructuring plan and streamline operations in the next couple months as part of the proceedings, but expects to continue operations at its locations and “engage its employees at current levels during the CCAA proceeding and afterwards.”

The company said its decision to restructure isn’t a reflection of its employees but a “strategic response to the industry-wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association head Ian Tostenson said Donnelly’s entrepreneurship and vision were worthy of him being named to the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame pre-pandemic, but the expansion into barber shops, cannabis and brewing proved costly with the COVID downturn.

“It was working then in that economy,” said Tostenson. “You could fuel that kind of machine, that kind of business then.”

He noted the whole industry got hit hard, acting as “a bit of a canary in the coal mine” for retail generally because of closures, capacity limits and other challenges.

Then, when customers started coming back, inflation hit along with supply chain challenges, increasing labour costs and a shortage of workers.

“We’re seeing bankruptcies up 116 per cent year-over- year,” said Tostenson, and less than 50 per cent of all restaurants in a recent survey were making money.

Bert Hick, a liquor and cannabis licensing expert who heads Rising Tide Consultants, said he is “saddened” by the news and fears for the whole hospitality industry.

“A lot of it was COVID,” said Hick, but it’s also labour shortages, rising costs and the looming payback of pandemic financial supports from the federal government.

“It’s a bit of a perfect storm,” said Hick. “The hospitality industry is very, very fragile right now. My prediction is you’re going to hear more horror stories in the coming months” with the COVID relief payments coming due at the end of the year.

“A lot of business owners took those loans on the premise (business) would come back,” noted Tostenson. “And it did for a couple of months, but then inflation kicked in.”

Hick and Tostenson both praised the Donnelly Group as exemplary operators with an impeccable record in the industry.

Like most in the hospitality industry, the Donnelly Group’s businesses were shuttered in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic and reopened gradually in the following years.

According to Donnelly Group’s petition filed this week, the businesses were able to maintain payment of debts until 2021, when they negotiated an agreement with BMO, the primary lender, to make monthly interest-only payments.

Once venues reopened in 2022, the businesses faced further economic challenges due to hikes in the minimum wage, supply chain issues, and rising insurance and interest rates.

Revenues have returned to 2019 levels, increased labour and operational costs mean thinner margins and a lower profit, said the company.

The hospitality entities listed in the petition currently owe BMO about $13.6 million, while Bomber Brewing owes $1.25 million, according to the petition. Their monthly debt servicing payments total about $295,000 a month.

While the petitioners have been able to make interest-only payments to BMO following a 2021 agreement with the bank, they “are not in a position to make principal repayments on a go-forward basis,” said the petition.

BMO supports Donnelly’s restructuring, and the lender has agreed in principle to restructure the company’s payments during the process, the petition says: “BMO benefits by the continued operation of the enterprise by present management, which represents its best prospect of recovery.”

Donnelly is also in arrears with some landlords to the tune of about $766,000, is in arrears for PST, and faces lawsuits from landlords and other creditors.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-pub-chain-donnelly-group-seeks-creditor-protection