People looking to grab a late night drink in the Lynnmour neighbourhood area will likely have more options in the near future.
At a regular meeting on Monday, District of North Vancouver unanimously passed a motion to support a liquor-primary licence for the lounge and patio at the Holiday Inn & Suites.
The hotel has applied to the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch to change from a food-primary licence to liquor primary at its Medley’s Lounge establishment.
Part of that application process allows for local governments to consider potential impacts to the community and provide comments to the LCRB.
The change would allow the lounge to reduce food service requirements later in the evenings. As part of the application, the Holiday Inn has also requested changes to its operating hours.
Currently, the indoor portion of the lounge is open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Saturday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Sunday. The proposed hours are 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
The existing hours for the outdoor patio are the same as the indoor hours, but the hotel has agreed to close the patio earlier – open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday – due to noise concerns.
According to a municipal staff report, no changes were proposed to the existing building or parking, and the occupancy limits will stay the same at 37 patrons inside the lounge and 20 on the patio.
Under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act, a hotel can apply for a liquor-primary licence as an ancillary service for its guests. Liquor-primary establishments must provide food and non-alcoholic drinks, but a full restaurant-style menu isn’t required, DNV staff wrote in the report.
To gather public input, a notice of the proposed changes were delivered to 537 neighbouring properties, and two public notice signs were put up on the site during the summer.
Staff noted that the hotel responded to concerns about noise by limiting the patio hours, and that changing the licence isn’t likely to create any issues.
“The transition to liquor-primary licence is intended to reduce food requirements after the restaurant’s kitchen closure,” staff said. “This change aims to provide hotel guests with an option for drinks and appetizers in the evening.”
