Tap room in old Rivers Night Club OK with council

NEWS/ CITY — A Lansdowne Street building used for many years for night clubs is a step closed to becoming a beer house thanks to the OK from City council Monday.

The former Rivers Night Club at 355 Lansdowne St. will become the Red Collar Brewing and Tap Room with a new kind of liquor licence — a brewery lounge endorsement. The old Rivers primary liquor licence was cancelled last year as a condition of the former owners increasing the licence capacity of Cactus Jacks on Fifth Avenue.

The tap room and craft brewery must operate together.

The tap room would be open from 4 to 10 p.m. five days a week plus special events. The seven-day limit placed on it by council’s resolution is 12 noon to 11 p.m.

David Beardsell, a former co-owner of the Nobel Pig, is the applicant.

The City’s endorsement is one step in the process overseen by the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. A report from administration said the new use will complement other recreational amenities in the area because it’s close to Riverside Park and Interior Savings Centre.

“Staff are of the opinion that the proposed establishment will help diversify options for the middle to upscale clientele base in the downtown area, which is currently not serviced by a brewery with tap room,” said the report.

The location is already a noisy area so noise impacts are expected to be negligible, staff said. Only one letter was received from the public on the proposal — it supported the plan.