B.C.’s Antiquated Liquor Laws Bad for Business

Rio Theatre | BCBusiness
The Rio Theatre is a prime example of how the province’s outdated liquor laws are harming small businesses.

The darkened Rio Theatre epitomizes how the province’s narrow liquor laws are strangling small businesses.

At this point, many Vancouverites have heard rumblings of the Rio Theatre’s embattled liquor licence.
 
The Rio, which served up until recently as both a movie theatre and a live events venue, waited almost a year for the province to process a liquor licence. Last month, the province finally granted owner Corrine Lea a licence, but said she could no longer show movies.
 
According the B.C.’s current laws, venues cannot show movies if it possesses a liquor licence. Lea adamantly says she would only serve alcohol during concerts and live events, not during movies.
 
The truth is it’s no longer financially viable for most small theatres to only show movies. Diversifying a theatre’s uses by opening it up to live events is almost a necessity. And as more small theatres darken (Oakridge Cinema is another theatre that closed its doors just a few weeks ago), it would seem all Vancouver will have soon is giant megaplexes.
 
The City of Vancouver and many community members are rallying around the theatre, organizing fundraisers to help the Commercial Drive landmark stay open (the owner says she’s losing around $2,000 a day without movie ticket sales).
 
But the fate of the little theatre that could is in the hands of the province. Will they follow Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta and change narrow liquor laws to allow alcohol to be served in theatres? Perhaps.
 
Considering small businesses are B.C.’s lifeblood, the province should seriously consider updating laws that don’t reflect modern mores and are obviously killing small businesses. Without a change, the Rio won’t be the last landmark to shut its doors.