A convenience store where you can buy beer by the case… accompanied by poutine. This is roughly the description of the restaurant Bières
Last February, a customer came to one of the Bières restaurants
Its purchase is detailed in the documents of the RACJ, which summons the owner of Bières
This method is well documented by the Régie. Of the orders that were observed, one contained a fries ($1.99) and $620.80 worth of beer, before deposit. RACJ documents also relate cases where Beers
The Régie also accuses it of advertising that encourages non-responsible alcohol consumption, by displaying low prices.
Contacted by La Presse, owner Jérôme Landry assured that his establishment met the criteria defining a restaurant.
The Beers Facebook page
Questioned on this subject, Mr. Landry recalled several times during the discussion that the sale of food constituted more than half of his turnover.
With this summons, is he afraid of losing his restaurant license? ” It’s my life. Is there anyone who is not afraid of losing their job, their pension fund? » Although he says he is worried, the restaurateur is still confident about his chances of winning his case.
Restaurants Beers
At the heart of the issue is how much alcohol a restaurant owner can sell with food. According to the Régie, a restaurant must sell mainly food, with (perhaps) alcohol as an accompaniment. Is there a maximum amount of alcohol that can be sold when purchasing a meal for takeout or delivery?
“Without quantifying precisely, it is answered that the vocation of a restaurant is the usual and main preparation of food on site and that alcohol remains incidental to this vocation,” indicated in writing the spokesperson for the RACJ, Joyce Tremblay. Same thing for delivery or take-out purchases, “the quantity of alcohol must be proportional to the quantity of food,” explains Me Tremblay. Once again, alcohol is a complement and food is the main thing.”
At Beers
Beers
The situation is therefore very different from that of the Boires restaurant, a Montreal establishment which offers the possibility of purchasing bottles of wine, rather natural wines popular with connoisseurs, with the purchase of items on the menu, as light as a popcorn.
The RACJ had revoked the permit of the Boires restaurant last month, but the owner of the establishment appealed this decision and has just regained his permit, in a reprieve granted by the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec.
Beyond the differences between the two cases, some observers wonder if the Régie might not be tightening the screws on business models that developed during the pandemic.
However, several businesses have adopted similar models during the pandemic. We should perhaps better define the regulation on quantity, believes Professor Luc Bernier, of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. This would put an end to interpretations of the regulation which are legal, but then contested by the legislator.
Beyond that, the professor believes that we should adapt the legislative framework. “It’s normal in our society that the law applies to a somewhat outdated model,” he says. When things change, the law must be readjusted. » Luc Bernier also recalls that the companies targeted by these RACJ protests, as well as those behind wine merchant type businesses, are small businesses.
As for the threat to the SAQ monopoly, mentioned by the RACJ in the Boires case, the professor believes that the quantities are negligible and do not cause the State to lose revenue, which collects taxes on each of the bottles sold, in completely legal. “And for public health, I prefer a trader who enjoys natural wine,” explains the professor, “than the dubious stills of yesteryear, dangerous for everyone’s health. »
