What does the LCBO strike mean for Ontario’s hospitality and home-grown alcohol businesses? In a new series of articles, TVO Today is talking to these businesses to ask about their industries and what the strike has meant for them. Today: the local watering hole.
Note from the author: Everyone needs a local hangout. For the last decade, mine has been the Leaside Pub, a bar and restaurant in my neighbourhood in Toronto. When the LCBO went on strike, I wondered how hospitality businesses would respond. I reached out to the pub and was able to arrange an interview with Jeff Hohner, a partner, and Param Ratna, the general manager.
Matt Gurney: Let me start just by asking you guys a bit about yourselves. How did you get involved with the pub?
Jeff Hohner: I live just down the street! I’m actually in investments, but I became friends with Param... well, man, I can’t believe it’s been 15 years. Param has been involved with the pub since 2004, since before it was the Leaside Pub, and that’s how I met him. The pub did a lot of support for local schools and their fundraisers and also local sports teams. Param was volunteering with that, and I met him on barbecue detail at Bessborough Public School. We met through that and became friends. And a few years later, he needed a partner and asked me if I wanted to get involved.
Gurney: My wife volunteers with the local school for our kids, and I’m sure she’s hit you both up for donations for those fundraisers. Param, what’s the story from your side?
Ratna: I was a corporate chef for the Firkin chain of pubs. I wanted to try a different chain, and I bought this pub in 2004. It was a Fox and Fiddle franchise then, and I bought that franchise. And in 2011, Jeff and I thought it would be a good idea to go independent, so we left the Fiddle chain and took the pub fully independent.
Gurney: Was that an easy process?
[Both other men laugh]
Gurney: [Also laughs] Well, never mind.
Hohner: No, no. It was fine. The Fiddle people were great. But it took a while, and you have to buy your way out. So that’s what we did. It was just a business strategy choice. We wanted to be affiliated with the community, not a chain. So we renamed it the Leaside Pub. It belongs to the community. That is really important to us — this place belongs to the community. We sponsor teams. We host leagues. We’ve even hosted wakes.
Gurney: So Param has been here since 2004. Jeff, you’ve been involved for a decade. I’m just curious: How far back do you guys know the history of the site?
Hohner: I know a bit about that. It’s been a food venue since 1940. It was the Leaside Restaurant and Tavern. Then it was a Fiddle, starting in 1999. And it was fully independent by 2014 and became the Leaside Pub.
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Gurney: Obviously, I want to understand how the LCBO strike is affecting you guys, but just for context: What has the post-pandemic period been like? And just so you guys know, I remember all of it. I remember when you guys could do takeout. I’d get takeout. And then you could only serve outdoors. I had meetings at a little table in your parking lot when that was what was legal. Actual business meetings in the parking lot. What’s it been like for you guys?
Ratna: It’s come back. But it’s different. I’ve been doing this work for years. We used to have the lunch rush, the dinner rush, and then the late crowd. The late crowd would be from say 11 at night to three in the morning. The people who’d be the last ones to leave. And that’s never come back. Things are very quiet by midnight. And I talk to a lot of people in this industry. That’s true everywhere. The late crowd is kind of gone. By midnight, it’s pretty dead. And I think maybe some people are still afraid of the virus, but I think it’s mostly that the behaviour has changed. Dining has come back, but the late crowd — that was the drinking crowd. It never really came back.
Hohner: And, Matt, on the business side, we can see the changes, too. I also talk with people in the hospitality industry. Hospitality is the ultimate in just-in-time delivery. And it’s hard. It was always hard to be profitable, and now even big chains are closing down locations. It’s all over North America. The industry has changed massively, especially the independents. They’ve been decimated. During COVID, many of the people left. For good. They aren’t coming back. Staff is a huge issue. It’s a big challenge. And input costs are way up across the board since the pandemic. Food, alcohol, insurance, labour, rents. It’s a much harder environment. We are lucky to have dedicated staff. Great staff. The best. And customers like you.
Gurney: I am fond of a pub, and you guys are walking distance from my house. I was happy to support you during the pandemic, and I still love coming in. During COVID, so many local businesses were folding, and I thought to myself, one day, this is going to be over, and I want there to still be something left to go to. So keeping you guys alive was a priority. Let’s talk a bit about the LCBO strike. I’ll start with a basic question. How do you guys get your booze?
Ratna: Different ways. Liquor, from the LCBO. Beer, mostly from the Beer Store and some local brewers. Wine, from wine retailers. Beer and wine, we order weekly. We sell a lot of that. Liquor, we’d order monthly. But that’s rare. Liquor is a capital investment for us. Most bars and restaurants don’t have the cashflow to buy ahead of time with large orders. So they’d buy weekly or sometimes daily.
Gurney: So spirits and liquor are off the market for you guys, but you have some supply for now.
Ratna: Well, we are starting to run into problems. We still have liquor. But some liquors, we’d only keep a bottle or two in the pub. It might be $150 a bottle. So even though I’d order monthly, for stuff like that, I could make a daily trip if we sold the last of it. And over the weekend, we had the soccer games, and a big group of guys came in, and they were all drinking a high-end tequila. How am I going to resupply that?
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Gurney: The LCBO says it is trying to maintain online deliveries and keep hospitality companies supplied. Is that working?
Ratna: No. There are bottlenecks. I know the LCBO is saying deliveries are continuing, but it’s not really happening.
Gurney: But beer and wine?
Ratna: We can still get Ontario wine. And we can still get beer, even imported beer. That’s still coming in. So no problem on beer. No problem on Ontario wines. But liquor and high-end wines, that’s going to be a problem in a few weeks. Leaside is a high-end clientele. People drink the high-end imported wines. That comes through the LCBO.
Hohner: Matt, again, I’ve talked with others in hospitality, and, yeah. There are bottlenecks everywhere.
Ratna: Even the beer and Ontario wine deliveries are slow. Look at the Loblaws shelves. Already empty. You’ve seen the pictures?
Gurney: Yes, I have. So you are already running out of some things. But you still have a lot of supply. What happens in a few weeks?
Hohner: We switch to beer, I guess? We can still get beer.
Ratna: We can, and some wine, but delivery prices are going to go up, so that’ll make the drinks more expensive. It’s going to be a real challenge. Beer shouldn’t be a problem, but maybe that gets slowed down, too. Who knows?
Gurney: What about Ontario producers for spirits? Can you buy directly from them?
Ratna: We can. But the flavours aren’t always what customers are expecting. And the operations are very small. They can’t meet the demand. We know what our customers like, and we try to provide it. The small companies in Ontario don’t always have that, and we don’t know all of them and their products.
Hohner: We are lucky, in a sense, that we are a pub. We sell food. We host events. People drink beer and can still drink Ontario wine. But some friends of mine in the industry, they operate clubs downtown. And those clubs depend on liquor. And as Param said, they don’t keep a lot of inventory.
Ratna: Clubs often buy daily. It’s cashflow.
Hohner: Wow. Daily. Yeah. So for them, this is a huge and immediate problem. We’re a bit luckier.
Gurney: I confess, guys — I’ve been out of town for a few weeks. I haven’t experienced a Toronto bar yet during the strike. What are you hearing from customers? I spend enough time there to know it’s a pretty relaxed crowd. I wouldn’t come otherwise.
Hohner: Mostly supportive things. Our customers are worried about us. They’re asking if we’re okay.
Ratna: I get calls from one regular. He only drinks one kind of rye. If I give him a free cocktail or beer, he won’t drink it. He just likes the rye. And he’s calling me and asking if I have it. And I told him, yes, I put aside a bottle for you. And there are others like that. They only want to drink something very specific. They don’t dine; they don’t want a beer. They have a drink they love. And they’re calling me to ask about my supply. And when I run out, they’ll stay at home until the strike is over. It’s part of my business.
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Gurney: That is not me! I won’t drink any swill, but I’m pretty happy with most decent beers. I’ll just have to drink more to help you guys out. Param, a question for you. Ontario has already changed its alcohol laws a lot in recent years. That’s a big part of why we have this strike. What has that meant for you? Has it changed how you do business?
Ratna: No, not really. Beer, once a week. Wine, once a week. Liquor, one a month. That’s how we’ve operated for years. But one thing that has changed: we can’t get some of the liquors anymore, since COVID. The LCBO can’t supply it — or at least not enough for me to order monthly. Some things that I used to be able to order once a month, I now need to get whenever they have a few bottles.
Gurney: Is that a supply-chain thing?
Ratna: Yeah. Since COVID, the LCBO still can’t always get enough supply of products.
Gurney: Wow. That’s interesting. Guys, thanks so much for this. I don’t really have anything else to add. Anything you guys want to add?
Ratna: Nope, I’m good.
Hohner: Just one thing, Matt. A huge thanks to our staff. They’re the best. And to customers. We went through some terrible things, all of us, during the pandemic. It was a dark time. But we did our best to adapt, and great customers helped us survive and thrive. We can’t thank them enough.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
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