More regarding ‘No Fun City!’ – you can catch my previous post, HERE.

<rant> Here we go again. Business in Vancouver or BC for that matter is always a tough cookie. I can recount the story of a colleague (Vancouverite) who opened up the same business simultaneously in Alberta and BC. Within 30 days, he was running in Alberta and has a profitable little enterprise. After about 3 years in BC, no permit issued to run the company by the powers that be, he’s given up. He’s also packed up and moved to Cowtown.

Well, another well-respected Calgarian, Zak Pashak, someone I’ve dealt with in Calgary at the Broken City and for the Sled Island Festival, is now running up against a wall with his new venture, the Biltmore Cabaret.

Why? Well, it’s the City or Vancouver, ‘No Fun City!’ – not the people up top, not the people who should be making decisions, but the bureaucracy and the generally anti-innovation/anti-business/anti-capitalist machinery in between. People instilled in this city by the NDP, the left and those that support people like Gregor Robertson.

Single women frequently ask me where the good (straight) men are. I’ll tell you – they’re off making their money elsewhere, where the business climate is better. Only a few of us survive here. </rant>

I digress.

So, Zak’s gone and written an open letter to Peter Ladner, who’s likely going to be the man in charge after this November’s election. Hopefully Mr. Ladner can help.

Preface by Greg McMullen. You can read it, and the open letter after the jump.

Subject: Open letter from Zak Pashak (Biltmore owner) to Peter Ladner

I was forwarded this letter by Zak Pashak, owner of the Biltmore Cabaret on 12th and Kingsway. After extensive negotiations with the city over limited hours of service, Zak and the Biltmore seem to be facing a never-ending series of bureaucratic battles.

Yet another war story from the front lines in No Fun City. Let’s make this an issue in the mayoral race!

___________

Hello Peter,

I know you are busy and I want to thank you for reading this. I am a young business person from Calgary who has recently opened a bar in Vancouver. In Calgary I run a venue called ‘Broken City’ that has been voted best live music venue each of the 4 years it has been open. We host local and touring rock bands for the most part. We also host Calgary’s longest running jazz jam and various community events, fundraisers and even political debates. I also run a music festival called Sled Island.

My mother lives in Vancouver when she is not in Calgary running the magazine Alberta Views (a political magazine). My father was an MLA in Alberta, and I am also politically active in Calgary. My bar in Calgary is frequented by a few of our city councillors and I have hosted events for them.

When I used to visit Vancouver people would complain that there were no good venues that supported the local arts community (the Railway and Media clubs being notable exceptions). One year ago an opportunity to do something here opened up for me.

I took the old bar in the basement of the Biltmore (Kingsway and 12th) – this was formerly a rough place- and did a small yet expensive non-structural renovation, including expanding the existing stage and installing a top of the line sound system. We hire local staff and bands and have already started to make some waves in Vancouver.

We were recently shut down on a technicality regarding the expansion of our stage. This came about after we had been shut down due to going over our posted capacity. Our posted capacity is punitively low- but we should not have gone over. Getting shut down, however, seems to be not in keeping with normal practices. Normally a fine is issued unless people are at risk (from my understanding). We are currently closed because the fire inspector then took issue with the stage being larger that it was on the drawings he had. That same inspector told us we would not likely get shut down again- but then came in at 4pm the night of a show to tell us we had to close. He then told us that if we got a drawing we could open the next day. We got the drawing and were then told we had to wait for them to process things for a few more days. Today I have learned that things have now been pushed over to a building inspector and it will take at least 10 more days. Now that I am in this process !

I know it could keep getting passed around endlessly. It is amazing how suddenly effective municipal employees can be when they are trying to make things hard for people/small businesses. This is not meant to be a threat- but my consultant is recommending that I initiate legal action. I would rather avoid this.

Apparently our liquor inspector (a hapless and misinformed man named Edward) stated to one of my employees that he wanted to see the club shut down permanently. All of what we are being put through seems excessive and punitive. It is also costing me a lot of money. Bar owners are people too- at least some of us are. We have a loose cannon in Edward acting like a renegade sheriff.

It is a largely held belief that the Granville Entertainment Group is paying off civil servants. I don’t know if this is true- but that it is widely held to be true is troubling enough.

There are bars in Vancouver that have been in business operating as brothels (the #5 orange, etc) for years. There are bars that lock the front doors and serve drinks until 7am. There is a bar that serves drinks all night, has no license AND deals with the city the city of Vancouver regarding plumbing issues- and is still in operation. They have dangerous wiring and actually could put people in harm’s way. In Vancouver I have been to filthy restaurants with public bathrooms in the kitchen. There is also a MASSIVE drug problem in the city. But we are closed for weeks because of a technicality with our stage. The amount of heat being put on us is completely out of scale. We are a well run, well intending bar that wants to do good things here in Vancouver and we are following the rules.

Our stage was approved in our initial inspection. It is true- we made non-structural changes and we increased the size of the stage, but it was approved already. It is under two feet high and from what I know about building codes it should not require a permit. Yet here we are having the book thrown at us.

I believe everything we have done is legal, other than going over capacity. We have paid piles of money in taxes. I feel we are being treated unfairly and I am writing to ask for your help. If you would be willing to ask a couple of questions to find out why this is happening to us it would be very helpful and very much appreciated.

Thank you again,

Zak Pashak
owner
Biltmore Cabaret

Zak’s not making any friends by pointing fingers at Granville Entertainment or at No.5. If the allegation is true, it’s probably not that company’s choice but a lousy requirement to stay in business. If GEG’s doing it, so is DHM, Adelphia and others since, for the most part, they’re dealing with the same inspectors – people I’ve never seen on the strip (despite spending a copious amount of time there.) I have seen them harass small establishments like Campoverde, though. Makes you go hmm…

Sad to say, if Zak leaves, it will be internationally noted. What he’s done in Calgary with Broken City and with live music in Canada is quite extraordinary. He’s very well respected by the industry and his departure will have a significant impact on this city’s (already monotonous) culture.

Good luck to Zak – we’ll update you in the comments section as this progresses.