boozenews.ca

By Paul Mitchell



Canada has a well-earned reputation for great beer and great people who like beer. Although the general taste trend is away from traditional ales (remember how ubiquitous Molson Export was during the 70's and 80's?) toward big name U.S. corporate lagers and pilsners, Canadians still love their beer (Read a really interesting article in the Globe and Mail here). When it comes to the Canadian identity, beer is right up there with hockey, saying "thank you", and the Tragically Hip. So when I was enjoying another northern tradition of watching the Grey Cup (in 2009, between the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders), what struck me was a distinct absence of beer in league sponsorship and advertising during the broadcast. Beer and football are a classic combination. So where were the beer ads? And what struck me as even more interesting was the overwhelming number of whisky ads (whiskey for our American friends). But when you look back at the history of alcohol sponsorship in the Canadian Football League, whisky has held a very lofty place...

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By Paul Mitchell



Elephants are a dominant animal when it comes to beer. Carlsberg has their elephant beer and Tusker has an elephant on their label. Beside references to pink elephants and inferences of excess that extend to a Belgian beer brand (see the additional note for more on the beer), the "elephant in the room" has become more than just a figure-of-speech for the unmentioned. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has just released a holiday campaign to encourage responsible drinking that uses inflatable elephants as their central concept. "Deflate the Elephant" hopes to curb drinking-and-driving while educating the public on how to be a good host.

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By Paul Mitchell



Ever since the advent of VCR's, recordable DVD's, high-speed internet and TIVO, advertisers have been pulling their hair out in an attept to find ways of not fast forwarding through their commericals. As with most things in business and marketing, there are only a few who take the high road and produced intelligent and entertaining ads that make us want to watch. The rest take the low road and just try to "blitz" everything with their logo and plaster ads everywhere without strategy. Beer is no different in the methods it takes to win its audience.

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By Paul Mitchell



A debate has long been contested that the liquor laws in Ontario, and the system by which we regulate sales and distribution, are antiquated and not on par with other areas of the country and other nations. Issues have created changes to regulations from time to time – closing time moving from 1:00 am to 2:00 pm, bars and taverns opening on Sundays, breweries and wineries allowing on-location sales – but by comparison, the system still remains fairly restrictive.

Although most decry the fact that convenience stores cannot carry beer, and that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) holds a tight monopoly over import, supply and distribution, I still believe that Ontario benefits from a fair and responsible system. What is interesting, however, is that a recent challenge to the LCBO has been passed and is currently flying under the radar to most people in the province, including those in community advocacy groups who oppose further liberalization of the LCBO regulatory system.

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By Paul Mitchell


Starting a restaurant is one of the riskiest business ventures. A lot of people have the dream to start their own restaurant and imagine the thrill of being the gracious host, entertaining friends and preparing incredible meals. The reality of the restaurant business is quite a bit different. The hours are long, the margins are slim, the overhead is high, and the employees are unreliable (usually untrustworthy too). My father worked in the banking industry for over 40 years and loans would seldom, if ever, be issued for restaurant start-ups, even with a proven track record. Banks are, of course, the most conservative of lenders, but I think it reinforces a point.

So if someone really wanted to risk their time and money with starting a restaurant (or bar), would it not make sense to invest a great deal of time into selecting an appropriate name? It would seem obvious, but there are countless restaurants that are invariably destroying their prospects at the outset with a poorly chosen, if not offensive, name...

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By Paul Mitchell


There is a decent bar here in London, Ontario called Robinson Hall that I have been frequenting for a number of years (they have a more “hip” lounge upstairs called “The Thorny Devil”). The bartenders are not nearly as good nor as cool as they think they are, and generally the prices are more expensive than they should be for what you get. It tends, however, to be the place where I will most likely recognize old friends and it usually provides a fun night out. With an older clientele, there seldom is any trouble but the younger set upstairs requires more supervision. So when a bathroom attendant appeared a few years ago, I thought it was simply for added security. When I looked into the idea a little more, I realized that it was a move of sheer genius.

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By Paul Mitchell


So what has happened for employees in the food service and hospitality industry to think that everyone has the right to ask for tips? More frequently, we are starting to see tip jars in pizzerias, food kiosks, cafeterias and other places, and it is sitting as well with me as “nuclear meltdown” strength chicken wings with blue cheese dressing and grapefruit juice. We do not feel obligated to tip the sales person when we buy clothing, cars, cell phones or any other item so what makes food apparently so special?

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From: http://myhogtown.blogspot.com/2008/05/city-bites-for-sale.html

MyHogtown has learned that City Bites: Toronto's Guide to Great Food and Drink, is for sale. The bi-monthly magazine, which just published its 3rd anniversary issue and goes to 30,000 readers (25,000 through the Globe and Mail, and 5,000 of which are distributed around the city and to subscribers), is looking for takers. "It's just time to move on and do some new projects," co-founder Dick Snyder tells MyHogtown. "Basically, we got the mag to break even in year two, and have been profitable for the last year. But to really grow it and expand -- which is what our readers cry for -- it needs a lot of serious attention. It needs to be monthly, possibly bigger format, maybe even glossy."

Snyder, who has been doing City Bites on the side (he's Executive Editor at Redwood Custom Communications), says he's open to staying involved if a buyer wants him to, or just letting it go completely -- either way, he just wants see it grow. "The website especially needs developing," he says, adding "we've got lots of people who want to work on it -- the web side, as well as the edit. I mean, the support sure is strong from readers, contributors and advertisers."

Anyone with questions or inquiries should email info@citybites.ca.

By Paul Mitchell
The spring 2008 issue of LCBO’s “Food & Drink” magazine/catalogue features a ‘globetrotting’ spotlight on environmentally friendly packaging. Many readers will remember an in-store brochure the LCBO produced a couple of years ago to promote different “green” packaging methods available. The messaging is somewhat biased and unrepresentative since producers are able to purchase their inclusion into the section (much like the rest of the publication) at great expense.
The big hype in this issue surrounds the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is a plastic resin used to make bottles and other consumer products.

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By Paul Mitchell

It may seem like a paradox, but in some instances in the bar and hospitality field, a little discrimination may actually be better for business. Cries and arguments from whiny liberals to the contrary aside, the policy actually has precedence. First of all, we can agree that we are not talking about bigotry or discrimination based on gender, sexual preference, race or religion. Age discrimination, however, is another story. There are situations in business, but especially in the drinks trade when discriminating because of age can actually be a benefit to business.

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