Pub-crawl with one of Yellowknife's liquor inspectors
Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 11/01) - Darrell Oullette is Yellowknife's ultimate clubber, hitting up to 11 bars on a Friday night, but some bar owners don't like him, and he never buys a drink.
Liquor inspectors never drink on the job.
Oullette said it's a simple job, one that requires him to "observe and document" what happens in Yellowknife watering holes.
| Facts on tap:
Bars penalized last year for infractions under the liquor code. All penalties resulted from bars serving minors:
The Big Three Bars: number of inspections last year
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After a year on the job, Oullette learned to consider the fullness of the moon and the date when he hits the bars.
"We look at pay-days, full moons and (whether or not) it's Friday the 13th," said Oullette. His first Friday on the job fell on the 13th and was a full moon.
And with a quick check of the sky Oullette began an extensive pub crawl through Yellowknife.
The first stop on the inspection run was Forty Below Golf. A bar best known for its golfing simulators is also Yellowknife's karaoki hot spot.
Oullette pulled out a thin pad of papers. The "spot-check report" lists 10 items for inspection.
The list cites supervision, conduct of guests, condition of bar area, washrooms, food services and exit doors, and observation of closing hours. There's also room to mark other possible infractions.
A karaoki diva strolled between tables, her voice big, mixing with the odd whoop from a mostly middle-aged crowd drinking Molson Canadian and rum and Cokes.
"Don't you want somebody to love? Do you need somebody to love?" she wailed.
Oullette checked the fire doors and men's bathroom before counting patrons.
"Mostly regulars here," he said, counting 63.
Standing room only
It was standing room only at the Black Knight. Bartenders pumped the levers for the on-tap draft like gambling addicts at slot machines.
Oullette stood back, and checked for signs of over- drinking. A cigarette lit on the wrong end, a flame that just won't kiss the tip are some of the signs that signal to Oullette someone shouldn't be getting any more drinks.
"We're just checking on voluntary compliance to the Liquor Act," said Oullette.
Then it was on to the Elk's Club where Oullette checked the sign-in list at the door. Someone had four guests, and members are not allowed to endorse more than two.
"Elk's is a club. If too many get in, it turns into a bar and that's a different licence," he said.
Oullette explained his concern to the shift supervisor as a woman stood at the entrance, scanning the crowd for a familiar face to sign her in.
Outside the club, Oullette wrote himself a note on the guest list for his report.
"It's not a major infraction but if people start disobeying it gets out of hand," he said.
"You can't let things go, you have to nip it at the bud," said Oullette, who also works at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre.
Parked in front of the Right Spot Sport Bar, Oullette watched a man in blue-jeans and cowboy boots stagger down the sidewalk with a young woman. He fumbles with a cigarette near his lips.
"I'm going to watch if they let him in," he said.
They do and they sell him a beer. Oullette pointed out the
man's condition and the bartender tries to make the customer leave. But he wants to finish his beer. The man leaves after some diplomatic imploring.
A bartender said it's hard to tell when someone is drunk because they seem to pull themselves together to buy the drink.
Age infractions
Outside, Oullette met with another liquor inspector, Russ Head. He only had two bars to hit that night, the Right Spot and the Raven. Both bars get two visits. There are three liquor inspectors doing rounds in the city.
Before entering The Industry, Oullette waits for two young women and a young man to get out of a cab.
"I want to see if they get carded," said Oullette.
Last year, the territory's liquor commission fined six Yellowknife bars for serving minors, including The Industry.
No one checks their identification and Oullette follows them, whips out his flashlight and asks to see ID, an Industry bouncer in tow. They check out.
Oullette inspects behind the bar for cleanliness and to see if any of the serving staff are drinking, then makes one more round checking ID.
It's time for the big boys, said Oullette, and changed the music in his car from Elton John to Prodigy's Firestarter.
Oullette said the time he spends in a bar ranges and depends on instinct.
"Sometimes you feel like something is going to happen," said Oullette, who doesn't drink and is a martial arts expert.
He said if a fight breaks out, he just sits back and watches how it's handled.
Oullette believes a good bouncer should protect the patron from himself rather than pounding the person into oblivion, the way it used to be.
The Raven smelled of perfume and cigarettes, not an empty chair in sight, and the bar is close to its capacity of 170 people.
Jim Sturge, owner of the Raven, had concerns about the fact this was the bar's second inspection that night.
"This is way beyond the norm," said Sturge.
The Raven was just shut down for three days for serving minors and said the bar is being targeted.
"They shut me down and they left people without jobs," said Sturge.
Oullette checked a few more ID's, observed for a while before leaving.
"You can't take it personally and you can't take it home," said Oullette about confrontations with bar managers.
"I'm just doing my job," he said.
Oullette pounded on the door of the Gold Range, the bouncer let him in. A band played country licks and four couples with shaky legs swayed across the dance floor.
Oullette said the Gold Range has shaped up over the years. It used to over-serve and over-crowd, but now it's playing by the rules.
The bar was packed with 230 people, just below its 254 capacity, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke. Oullette pushed his way through to the pool tables. Guys with half-cocked ball caps and glassy eyes slumped and stared through half-empty beer bottles.
According to Oullette, a patron can't have more than two beer at a time.
Over-serving concerns
Over-serving is one of Oullette's biggest concerns, but he said it happens more in the afternoon than at night.
"I see people staggering in the afternoon," said Oullette.
"I mean the bars open at 10 a.m. and people are lined up to get in."
Oullette said he would like to inspect bars during the afternoon.
"There's a lot of red ribbon to go through before that can happen," he said.
Oullette headed for the Gallery, and stayed for last call, checked ID's, and looked over the lavatory, fire exit, bar cleanliness.
The bar was just over its 199 limit at 206. The bouncer told Oullette the doors would be closed to get the numbers down.
"It was a quiet Friday night," said Oullette.
It's all over but the cab rides.
