BC extends new allowances for patio expansions and liquor delivery into 2021

A couple of the biggest changes that were implemented to help British Columbia’s hospitality industry recover from COVID-19 have been extended.

The new policies that allow restaurants, bars and cafes to extend services areas like patios and deliver unopened liquor products with the purchase of food were set to expire on Oct. 31, 2020.

Temporary Expanded Service Area’s, like patios, have been extended a full year and will now be allowed until Oct. 31, 2021.

Nearly 1,100 TESA authorizations were granted by the province as of Sept. 11.

They’ll all be reissued authorization letters, automatically extending the expiry date of those authorizations.

Before that happens, however, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch will reach out to local governments to confirm their support for the extension.

The temporary authorization that allows food-primary and liquor-primary licensees to sell and deliver sealed, packaged liquor products with the purchase of a meal has been expanded until March 31, 2021.

It will “continue to provide businesses with relief from the financial hardship of the pandemic,” says a release from the provincial government.

It also makes it easier for vulnerable British Columbians to continue observing orders from the provincial health officer.