PUB OWNERS LOBBY AGAINST CHANGE Restaurants pull for b CERVEZA POR FAVOR — hold the nachos. By MICHAEL BECKER Local restaurants are backing a Restaurant and Food Services Association of B.C. (RFSABC) lobby for liquor licensing changes in the province that would allow restaurants the right to serve liquor without serving food. The Neighborhood Pub Owners’ Association of B.C. (NPOABC) recently appeared before North Vancouver District Council calling for the municipality to ask the provincial government not to loosen regulations. “We had the right to sell liquor in holding areas without food long before pubs ever existed in this province, said RFSABC provincial president George Acs. ‘‘We want something back that we had in the early ’70s. All we are asking for is parity with what the rest of the provinces and the U.S. already have.’’ Acs said since Expo passed through town last year, public de- mand for liquor-only service in restaurants has increased. “You can imagine the dismay of tourists who walk into a restaurant and on- ly want a glass of wine and an evening in a social atmosphere of a quiet restaurant rather than a noisy pub,"' he said. Acs said a study by hospitality industry consultants Laventhol & Horwath conducted for the restau- rant association three years ago, concluded 76 per cent of 2,000 people polled in Vancouver, at border crossings, Victoria and in outlying communities, supported the allowance of drinking in res- taurants without food necessarily being ordered. “We are being pounded by the hotel association and the pub owners. All we want is what the public demands,”’ said Acs. Michel Segur, owner of Chez Michel in West Vancouver, said there are usually noi too many people who come iuto his restau- rant simply looking to drink. “It’s very rare, but I think it’s a good idea to have a choice. Not everyone wants to go into a pub and have lousy food. We should be free for the public to choose, but I can understand why the pub association is screaming bloody hell,” said Segur. North Vancouver restaurateur Manuel Sovino, owner of El Maison, said he’d like to see a change in the province’s licensing policy. ‘‘Personally 1 think it is necessary. Restaurants are sufferi- ng very much. Being able to serve liquor without food could help a lot. If pubs can sell food and sell liquor without food, we should have the same right,’’ said Sovino. NEWS photo Neil Lucente Hole in one With an accumulated 27 years in the restaurant business, Kypriaki Taverna owner Kike Redondo echoes Sovino’s sentiments. ‘‘I'd like to have freedom in our in- dustry. [ don’t complain about pubs serving food. But how come some pubs have 11 staff in the kitchen, and I’m running a restau- 3 -~ Friday, June 12, 1987 - Nortti Shore News rant and have only two?" asked Redondo. North Vancouver District acting mayor Ernie Crist said he was basically opposed to an easing of licensing regulations. ‘‘I think if you go to a restaurant just to drink, it becomes a bar and should be subject to the same rules pubs MESSAGE TO VICTORIA N. Van District calls for cautious liquor changes GO SLOW on the availability of booze is the message North Vancouver District Council is sending to the provincial Li- quor Policy Review Advisory Committee currently con- sidering liquor licensing changes for B.C. Council supported a June 4 report from district social planner Lenna Jones, which recommends council oppose any rapid changes in liquor policy which could in- crease social, health and policing costs. . The district also wants a re- quired formal consultation with local government before a liquor licence is issued or amended, and consultation regarding the location By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter of liquor distribution outlets. A Union of B.C. Municipalities report to the provincial review committee points out that ‘‘the present legislation is not clear on when focal government should be consulted, and there appears to be no clear ministry policy on the type of relationship. which should exist LOWER CAPILANO AREA ooze-only rights are subject to."’ A recommendation to the premier from a joint committee of the Ministry of Finance and Cor- porate Affairs and the Ministry of Labor and Consumer Services, currently reviewing licensing poli- cy, is expected to be presented by the end of the month. between local government and ministry officials.”’ UBCM 6éstatistics note licensed seating in the Vancouver area in- creased 18 per cent from 1985 to 1987. On a provincial level, B.C. has in recent decades consistently rated above the per capita average for alcohol consumption and for most years has had the highest of all provinces. In 1983 it was 135.7 litres per capita of population 15 years and older. For 1985-86 B.C. rang in 1,107,758,789 in liquor. sales and $474,635,917 in revenue. Resident ‘miffed’ at A LOWER Capilano area resident is ‘‘miffed’’ at the latest plans to thwart commuter neighborhood. She lives in a residential area bounded by Capilano Road and Marine Drive, the busiest traffic corridor on the North Shore. *““With the changes proposed, if I want to go up to the Upper Levels Highway, I’! have to go ail the way around the mulberry bush,” said MacGowan Aveaue resident Grace Ames. But according to . Lower * Capilano Community Residents Association (LCCRA) president George McCrae, current plans for the area were arrived at by consen- sus through an adhoc committee including members cf the North Vancouver District traffic safety committee, LCCRA, Glen Aire Drive, Woodcroft and area mer- chants. The committee met three times between March and May. traffic cutting through her By MICHAEL BECKER * News Reporter “Our main motivation through all of this has been to stop through-traffic and minimize resi- dent inconvenience,’’ said McCrae. The traffic plan, to be im- plemented in stages, includes in part cul-de-sacs on Tatlow Avenue, Bowser Avenue and MacGowan Avenue, a diverter at Hope Road and Bowser, and the prohibition of truck traffic on Garden Avenue. . Ames, who has lived at the cor- ner of MacGowan and Hope Road since 1981, said the proposed changes do not represent the ma- jority wishes of the area residents. “The association didn’t notify us about these changes. We told them we wanted signals along Marine NORTH VAN INDUSTRY Versatile chief resigns THE CHAIRMAN of North Vancouver’s Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. has resigned. In a statement Wednesday announcing that he would also resign as chairman and president of Ver- traffic flow changes synchronized so people will not go through our neighborhood,” said Ames. : “Tf they’re going to put all those cul-de-sacs and garbage in, then the prices on our houses will plummet,’’ she said, adding a neighbor nearby on Hope Road is moving from the neighborhood because of the proposals. But McCrae said the residents association position is backed by a petition signed last year by 80 per cent of the people living on Hope, Garden and Philip Avenue who want all through-traffic in their neighborhood stopped. “This proposal is the minimal closure we can put in. Ninety per cent of traffic on Philip and Hope will be eliminated,”’ said McCrae. “There is a price to pay. Some people, including myself, will have to drive further to go up Capilano Road. I’m quite prepared to do this for the benefit of the com- munity at large.’’ with a financial statement showing a $347,000 loss for Versatile Corp. in the first three months of 1987, The which compares with a loss of $17,006,000 in the first three months of 1986. statement follows a recent financial satile Corp., the shipyard’s corporate parent, Peter Paul Saunders said he intended to become full-time president of Saunders Investment Ltd., a personal holding company. According to the statement, Brian G. Kenning will take over the presidency of Versatile Corp. and Terry - A. Lyons wilt become Versatile Pacific’s chairman. Both men have been seniur officers of the Versatile Group. Wednesday’s announcement was also accompanied SINKING IT the easy way, George Pitman, chairman of the Variety Club of B.C board and chairman of the Variety Club telethon for 1988, pops a ball into a hole at the Second Annual Variety Club Pitch and Putt Tour- nament held Tuesday. Approximately 30 golfers joined the fun at Ambleside Park to raise money for the special kids at the Variety Club. reorganization of Versatile in which the corporation’s $90 million in secured debts were transferred to Toronto’s Hees International Corp. The reorganization cleared the last major obstacle faced by Versatile Pacific in its attempt to secure the $325 million Polar Class 8 icebreaker contract from the federal government. An annoucement on the contract is expected soon.