SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Bars in Yellowknife may be able to serve on Sundays this summer, but many places are opting to stay closed.

Angela Shute, restaurant and lounge manager at the Explorer Hotel, stands in front of the Trapline Lounge. Shute said the Trapline will probably take advantage of the new bylaw allowing for alcohol sales on Sundays starting on June 28. "Guests in the hotel always ask, especially people not from Yellowknife," she said. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

The Black Knight's Kyle Young told Yellowknifer that opening the extra day on the weekend simply isn't worth it for him. "It's a very small number of people who show up," said the assistant manager.

After making its way through city council, a new bylaw means that Class A vendors, or bars, in Yellowknife are officially allowed to serve alcohol 30 days after the May 25 council meeting, making June 28 the first day under the new rule.

Prior to the bylaw change, bars were limited to be open 10 Sundays a year.

The co-owner of After 8 Pub and Twist Restro-Lounge, Jason Perrino, pushed for the change in legislation in November. Perrino said all the Sundays that After 8 has been open were using the special yearly allowance.

"It's worth it, being in business," he said.

Perrino said the various games available made After 8 the best candidate out of the two businesses to immediately switch to a Tuesday to Sunday schedule a few weeks ago. He's not sure about the logistics of opening Twist on Sundays yet or whether he'll offer a full, reduced or brunch menu.

"We want to offer something else besides drinking," he said.

Even with the new rule change officially in place, Coyote's Steakhouse and Lounge owner Edward But said he hadn't decided yet. However, he pointed out that establishments had a choice and weren't obligated to open as a result of the change in city legislation.

"We all have families," he pointed out. "It's nice to have a day off."

At the Hot Shots Bar and Grill on Old Airport Road, owner Roger Ladouceur said aside from NFL Sundays, special events or private bookings, he doesn't see his place opening on Sundays on a regular basis either.

"I don't think Yellowknife is big enough, especially in the summer," he said, "You have to bring so much money in for all the staff. Even with $1,000 in sales, (it's) not worth it to be open 12 (p.m.) to 12 (a.m.)."

And Ladouceur said even with the 10 "special Sundays" each year where bars are allowed serve through special permission from the GNWT, Hot Shots found it only made financial sense to open for seven or eight of them.

For him, Sundays are his chance to clean.

At The Cellar Bar and Grill, owner and operator Dale Bardeau said he actually had a plan two years ago to implement serving on Sundays, but he won't be able to until after next summer.

"I'm going through a changeover right now," he said. "I would probably need a completely new staff for the Sundays."

Bardeau's original plan was to open as a licensed restaurant on Sundays so that he could serve.

"But with the new rule I don't have to do that."

Both Ladouceur and Bardeau also pointed to a noticeable slowdown in business during the summer months.

"It's so nice here, they don't want to be inside in the summer," Ladouceur said, "You couldn't trap me in a bar on a Sunday."

Meanwhile, at the Explorer Hotel, food and beverage manager Angela Shute said that the Trapline Lounge will definitely want to take advantage of the new change on Sundays.

"Our guests in the hotel have nowhere to go between when our restaurant closes for brunch and when it opens again for dinner," she said, noting there might be a few extra shifts or one extra person hired as a result. "It would be nice to have the lounge open at that time."

Shute said that in the past, she's definitely heard from guests who asked about the Lounge's availability, especially visitors from outside of Yellowknife. "They don't understand (being closed on Sundays)," she said with a laugh.

"They think it's silly."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.