The Spike Pub & Liquor Store - ABLE BC

Names in
the News
ABLE BC welcomes the following new member and associate: Duane Jordan, The
Best Damn Sports Bar, Penticton; and Kal Sidhu, Visions Business Solutions,
Surrey.
The Metropole, established in the historic Vancouver neighbourhood of
Gastown in 1906, has been re-launched as the Metropole Community Pub.
The pub will donate 25% of its annual profits to organizations in the Downtown
Eastside that are dedicated to making a difference, such as United We Can,
the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, the Vancouver Food Bank, and
Gallery Gachet. Donated funds to United We Can will be used in the charity’s
lane-cleaning program, which employs local residents who are considered
unemployable due to mental health, poverty, addiction, and physical disabilities
to clean sidewalks, lanes, alleys, and other public spaces as well as pick up litter.
The Hook & Ladder Pub held its 25th annual Duck Race fundraiser for Surrey
Memorial Hospital in April. For 25 years the pub has been "renting" rubber
ducks to their customers for $5. These ducks race down the creek, which runs
parallel to the pub, along with 699 others, in the hope of winning $500. It's a
family event with free hot dogs and pop for kids, face painting, and balloons.
Every child goes home with a prize. Pat Reffeling, Manager at the Hook & Ladder
boasts, “To date we have raised nearly $35,000 for the hospital, specifically the
children’s centre.”
The Oliver Twist Pub sponsored a weekend baseball tournament fundraiser for
Kidsport. 20 teams participated in the tournament, which was well attended
and very successful. The pub coordinated the set up of the beer garden, and
provided Serving It Right employees to staff it for the two-day tournament.
KidSport is a community-based sports funding program that provides grants
for financially disadvantaged children ages 6 to 18 to participate in amateur
sport and learn valuable life lessons and skills.
The Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island has hosted three fundraising dinners
throughout the year. These events raised at least $2,000 each for the Quadra
Island Children’s Centre, North Island Survivors Healing Society, and the Quadra
Island Seniors Housing Society. Delicious food was teamed up with fantastic
music or storytelling for memorable evenings benefitting worthwhile causes.
Central City Brewing has won the legal battle with Bear Republic Brewing of
Healdsburg, California over alleged trademark infringement. The judge ruled
that Central City’s Red Racer brand did not infringe on Bear Republic’s Racer
5 or Red Rocket marks.
To help promote Vancouver Craft Beer Week, which took place in May, event
organizers produced a video entitled “I Am a Canadian Craft Brewer”. It primarily
features brewers from BC, but is also meant to honour the hard work and
passion of small-scale brewers all across the country. Check it out on YouTube.
Beers of British Columbia is a new, 190-page, full colour guidebook written
by Leo Buijs after five months of research visiting breweries and brewpubs
throughout the province. The book evaluates each of the 300 different
beers brewed in BC, and makes recommendations for the novice as well
as the experienced beer consumer. It comes with a glossary of beer terms
and information on how to perform a proper tasting. Each beer is described
according to its content and taste experience and is accompanied by a full colour
picture of the label. The book includes the history and description of about 55
breweries and brewpubs in three regions of BC: the Lower Mainland, Vancouver
Island, and the south Central Interior. A cross-referenced index makes it easy
to find a particular beer or brewery and you will find a short history and great
ideas on food-pairing with some of the specific beer types.
BC Hospitality
Foundation
by Renée Blackstone
Frank Georgas of Vancouver has gotten a new lease on life - a lift, if you will
- thanks to the BC Hospitality Foundation. Georgas has amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease, that has severely restricted
his mobility.
Georgas is in a wheelchair and has been unable to get out of the house, but the
installation of an elevator in his home, paid for by many generous donations
to BCHF fundraisers over the years, now allows him to get fresh air and visit his
beloved grandchildren as well as friends.
Before he became ill, Georgas enjoyed an extensive career in the hospitality
industry, starting with a first job as a dishwasher. He's also been a cook, chef,
and restaurant operator for various employers, including working as chef at the
Delta Hotel properties in Campbell River and Prince George.
Meanwhile, the foundation's biggest fundraiser - the annual golf tournament
held at the spectacular Westwood Plateau course in Coquitlam on July 19 - sold
out as more than 200 people from all sectors of the industry turned out for
the event. Generous support from suppliers and donors provided food and
beverages at each hole, while an exciting silent auction drew bids on such great
items as flights to the Yukon, hotel stays, and fabulous wines. Additionally, there
were six chances to win hole-in-one prizes, one of which was won with the
winner taking home a prize of $5,000 cash and a set of new golf clubs.
The golf tournament was able to raise approximately $80,000, according to
BCHF Business Development Manager, Alan Sacks, who explains, “The generous
support of our sponsors and golfers enables the foundation to support our
own hospitality community. The generosity shown at this year's event shows
that the foundation’s objectives have been clearly identified as being a high
priority in the industry.”
For those with an “appetite for giving,” the BCHF is planning a new fundraising
event on October 25 called Dine and Dazzle. The event will be staged at the
third-floor Summit Level of the Vancouver Convention Centre and is intended
to be a less formal than traditional gala. The views will be unparalleled, the
food and wine will be fabulous, and there will also be lots going on that will
satisfy an appetite for high-energy fun, including the honouring of those who
have given unstintingly to the industry over the years. For more information on
this and other BCHF events, please go to www.bchospitalityfoundation.com.
Renee Blackstone is a freelance journalist who sits on the BCHF Advisory Board.
38 The Publican