Suds in the house

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This article was published 29/04/2021 (1640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Beer Can, a beer garden that operated downtown last summer, will open beside the Granite Curling Club on Saturday.

Owners hope the new location and a Mexican menu will continue to draw a socially distanced crowd.

Jenna Khan, one of three owners, said the same rules apply to the venue as for licensed restaurant patios under the current public health order, meaning liquor can only be sold if patrons have ordered a meal, that no more than four people are seated at any table, and that masks are mandatory whenever guests aren’t seated.

Capacity will also be limited to no more than 50 per cent of normal levels.

The business has been working to comply with health regulations, and despite concerns the latest health order might delay the opening, changes to outdoor dining will still allow the venue to open, Khan said.

In May, there won’t be live music, which was a mainstay at the venue last year when it operated in an empty lot between the Fortune Block and the former Winnipeg Hotel on Main Street.

The 2020 edition of the Beer Can was well-received by customers, with the unused lot transformed by spaced-apart tables, a small stage and a shipping container that served as a bar.

This year, the lot will host an outdoor music venue run by the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club, dubbed Times Change(d) Outside, the folk and roots music venue announced in February. That meant the Beer Can had to pack up its shipping container to go elsewhere, and co-owners Khan, Brad Chute and Neal McDonald cast their rocks to the West Broadway curling club, the city’s oldest.

Both Chute and McDonald are Granite members, and after witnessing the club struggle due to a lack of a curling season, struck up a deal to lease the lot to the east of the building and the club’s kitchen for the summer.

Construction has been underway for weeks, with much of the infrastructure from the former location being reused. A riverside stage along the south side of the lot has been built and a patio is planned for atop the shipping container-bar.

“It’s a lot bigger than it was last year,” Khan said, noting the business is still in the process of determining its capacity through discussions with the provincial licensing body. A dedicated liquor licence, separate from the Granite’s, has been granted, allowing alcohol to be sold until 10 p.m. under the current guidelines.

But as a premises licensed to sell liquor, this year, the Beer Can needed to add a culinary element in order to comply with health orders. That will be the Beer Cantina, a restaurant with a Mexican menu created by veteran local chef Keith Csabak. The cantina has partnered with the Fireweed Food Hub to use local ingredients.

The venue will serve Manitoba beer, cider, wine and cocktails.

Stringent cleaning measures will be in place, and the bar will only accept contactless payment methods, Khan said. Under provincial health orders, tables and seating are required to be arranged with at least two metres of separation between people sitting at different tables, except between booths and tables separated by a non-permeable barrier.

Weather-permitting, the Beer Can owners plan to be open every day.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca