Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 07, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A7 winnipegfreepress. com MANITOBA WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014 A 7 Furniture . Windows . Doors & More 289 King Street . 204- 946- 0729 Winnipeg's best kept shopping secret. Mon- Fri 8: 30- 5: 00 . Sat 9: 00- 3: 00 . Closed Sun www. tagwarehouse. ca M New, factory seconds, and more. CLEARANCE ON NOW! 665 Stafford St. ( at Pembina Hwy.) Stafford Square Mall ( Behind Price Choppers) 204- 453- 6473 B IG SALE Aquajoy Bath Lift 50% off Battery- operated Bath Lift was $ 1590 now $ 795 Grab Bars from $ 16.95 We install TensMachine only $ 59 BEST PRICE GUARANTEE PURCHASE & LEASE FINANCING AVAILABLE 0% REBAT ES & SAVINGS BA TE TE TE TE TE TE TE S& ,881 RE UP TO $ 8 8 1 1 8 18 88881 UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP SAVE COSTCO MEMBERS SAVE $ 1,000 GUGUGUUGUGUU RCHASE ANCINGCING EFINANCI E NG LABL AVAILABL AILABLE AVAILLABLE BEST PRICE GUARANTEE Birchwood Ford is the ONLYplacetoget our exclusiveBest PriceGuarantee EVERYONE GETSATRIP FOR TWOTO GETSATR LASVEGAS E PLUS TRIPS TO VEGAS! 1300 REGENT AVENUE WEST BIRCHWOOD FORD. CA T E L E P H O N E : ( 2 0 4 ) 6 6 1 - 9 5 5 5 TO L L F R E E : 1 - 8 0 0 - 5 3 9 - 3 07 3 CALL OR CLICK TODAY! * These great prices are extended finance prices on in- stock vehicles with Birchwood Ford with all rebates to dealer. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. Las Vegas trip includes up to a $ 500 air fare credit and 2 free nights stay on the strip. All payments OAC. Includes Costco rewards. Finance example: $ 10,000 at 4.99% Per annum for 96 months is $ 139.46 per month with a total obligation of $ 13,388.16. Cost of borrowing is $ 3,388.16 Used vehicle payments are at 84 months O. A. C. First 4 bi- weekly payments on us, OAC. Prices are plus freight, Birchwood Advantage and applicable taxes, see Birchwood Ford for details. ? ON MOST NEW VEHICLES ELIGIBLE COSTCO MEMBERS RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $ 1 , 000 BI- WEEKLY PAYMENTS ONUS * FIRST GET YOUR WITH THE PURCHASE FINANCE OR LEASE OF SELECT NEW 2013 AND 2014MODELS. 4 STK # D20570 2013 F- 150 4X4 XLT SUPERCAB $ 1,000 COSTCO REBATE! SALE $ 24,900 PRICE: YOU $ 16,049 SAVE: $ 1,000 COSTCO REBATE! STK # D22450 2013 FORD F- 150 PLATINUM CREW CAB BRAND NEW! REGULAR PRICE: $ 65,779 SALE PRICE: $ 46,898 SAVE: $ 18,881 $ 1,000 COSTCO REBATE! STK # D19180 2013 FORD F- 250 LARIAT CREW CAB BRAND NEW! REGULAR PRICE: $ 64,139 SALE PRICE: $ 50,712 SAVE: $ 13,427 NO RISK PURCHASE AT BIRCHWOOD FORD SAVE THE GAMBLING FOR WHEN WE SEND YOU TO VEGAS! $ 1,000 COSTCO REBATE! STK # E13030 2014 FORD ESCAPE: 6 ƪ SPEED AUTOMATIC, POWER GROUP SALE PRICE: $ 24,858 PURCHASE FROM: $ 70/ WEEK $ 1,000 COSTCO REBATE! STK # D18340 2013 FORD EDGE: 6 ƪ SPEED AUTOMATIC, POWER GROUP SALE PRICE: $ 27,983 PURCHASE FROM: $ 82/ WEEK YOU CAN COUNT ON BIRCHWOOD FORD'S BEST PRICE GUARANTEE! 2014 FORD FIESTA 2014 FORD FOCUS 2014 FORD FUSION 4 PAYMENTS ON US . RATES FROM 0% . SAVE UP TO $ 3,000 WEEKLY* WEEKLY WE LY * $ 77 WEEKLY* WEEKLY WE LY * LYLY $ 70 WEEKLY* WEEKLYLY * $ 82 S O a Winnipegger walks into a restaurant and tries to order a beer. " You can have that beer," the server says, " but only if you buy a plate of fries." For decades, this annoying little exchange was no joke in Manitoba, a province with liquor laws that date back to a time when alcohol was viewed as a noxious substance. In 2014, you can't walk into an alcohol- serving establishment licensed as a " restaurant" in this province and order a beer without also ordering food. Restaurants that operate " cocktail lounges" can sell just booze to customers, but only if there's room in those lounges. You can order just booze in something called a " beverage room," which hotels are allowed to operate if they also house something called a " dining room." You can also order just booze in something called a " cabaret," which is a place devoted to live entertainment, which up until last month was required to have no fewer than 200 seats and wasn't allowed to have DJs. In real life, nobody under the age of Betty White uses terms like " cocktail lounge," " beverage room" or " cabaret" when they go out and have a beer. They simply go to the bar. As soon as April Fool's Day, these antiquated terms will be put to rest, along with a frustrating set of positively Kafkaesque Manitoba liquor regulations that included no less than 12 different liquor- licence categories. On April 1, that number will be slashed to three. There will be one licence for liquor manufacturers, a second for liquor retailers and a third for places that serve booze by the glass. This change should be applauded, as restaurant, hotel and club owners have been spent decades begging for simplification. The changes will allow restaurateurs to sell booze and only booze in any portion of their establishment, should their lounges fill up at night. Live music venues that serve booze can be as small as they like. There will be an emphasis on offering food, rather than being forced to tally up exactly how much you sell. Rural hoteliers will be able to admit minors into live performances in former beverage rooms, provided kids or teens are accompanied by parents or adult guardians. All of these baby steps are welcome because they should drastically reduce the red tape associated with serving booze in Manitoba and prevent liquor inspectors from handing out silly letter- of- the- law infractions. But they are just baby steps. Although the Selinger government characterized the latest liquor- law update as a modernization, the moves are far from a full- blown liberalization. In April, after a new Liquor and Gaming Control Act is enacted, Manitobans still won't be able to buy a six- pack at the local 7- Eleven. Superstore still won't be able to stock its shelves with wine. And most significantly, Manitoban entrepreneurs still won't be able to open up establishments that sell booze and only booze - neighbourhood bars, for lack of a better term. The new regs should all allow smaller alcohol- serving establishments to open, provided they sell food, offer live music or both. This is important and should be applauded - but the province shouldn't stop at making life easier for gastropubs and tiny stages. Under the new regime, standalone bars will continue to be forbidden because the province blinked and decided not to fully liberalize the licence for alcohol- serving establishments. There actually won't be a single set of rules for anyone who wants to serve booze by the glass. The alcohol- serving licence will be broken down into four subcategories. There will be one set of rules for places that primarily function as restaurants, a second for live music venues, a third for personal- service businesses such as spas and salons, and a fourth category for custom licences, covering everything from bowling alleys to Investors Group Field. It will remain forbidden to simply open an establishment that looks like a neighbourhood bar, a cherished institution in many U. S. cities. This is unfortunate for downtown Winnipeg, where pocket bars occupying very small spaces could help revitalize empty storefronts. It's also unfortunate for commercial stretches of Winnipeg's outlying areas, where residents would love to be able to walk to a local bar instead of having to drive there. The province could have further liberalized the rules, content in the knowledge Winnipeg and other municipalities can use zoning regulations to control the proliferation of alcohol- serving establishments. But it feared a free- forall would harm existing restaurants and hotels. Perhaps in the future, the province can loosen its necktie even further. In the meantime, we'll take the baby steps - and raise a glass of regulated alcohol in their honour. bartley. kives@ freepress. mb. ca BARTLEY KIVES Let's look at changes as a glass half full Booze laws don't go far enough, but we'll take what we can get JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES On April 1, Manitoba's antiquated liquor laws will become a thing of the past. A_ 09_ Feb- 07- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A7 2/ 6/ 14 7: 08: 31 PM ;