Kelowna restaurant fined $11,000 after customer steps outside with drink

A Kelowna Caribbean restaurant has been fined $11,000 after a customer took their drink outside.

It’s not known whether the customer stepped out for a cigarette or to make a phone call, but the four minutes the woman stood in the alleyway outside the House Of The Caribbean cost the business $11,000.

According to a March 31 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, a liquor inspector was visiting the establishment when he saw the woman step outside holding a can of White Claw.

The decision says the inspector told the manager, who was the only person working at the time, that a customer had stepped outside and they replied, “OK” and “returned to work… without appearing to make any attempt to correct the alleged contravention.”

The incident took place last Halloween just after 11 p.m. and the liquor inspector noted the restaurant was playing loud music and noticed numerous red solo cups on the ground outside.

With multiple restaurant goers closely watching the liquor inspectors, they left to avoid further negative attention.

The restaurant was then issued a ticket.

The decision says the restaurant planned to dispute the ticket, but ultimately didn’t.

Penalties for the contravention range from a $7,000 to $11,000 fine, or a licence suspension for seven to 11 days.

Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch delegate John Rogers pointed out that this was the restaurant’s fourth infraction for the same issue in the last two years.

“What stands out from the evidence before me is the extremely poor compliance record of the licensee,” the delegate says in the decision.

“What also stands out in the evidence before me is the observation of the Inspectors that… when the woman who had exited the establishment with the liquor product returned to the… establishment after the Inspectors had spoken to the (manager) the (manager) took no action to remediate the situation.”

The delegate says the business should expect consequences for its failures and issued an $11,000 fine.

“To ensure that a monetary penalty does not merely constitute a cost of doing business,” the delegate says.

The restaurant has until April 30 to pay the fine.