THE WAKKER WEEKLY

Issue #1597 – Posted on: 06-September-2021

BREWERY “HOP”PENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our Summer Wheat and new Pink GuavaBuster Ale are on tap and in our offsale cooler. Our Mango Radler and even a few two litre bottles of Sarsaparilla are currently available in our offsale cooler. There are also many other beers available including a West Coast IPA, Irish Red Ale, Brown, Blonde, Pilsener, Vienna, Pale Ale and a Porter. Growler fills and keg fills are also available!

 

After almost 18 months the big day is finally here! Bring on the piper, bring on the precession and bring on the pomp and circumstance as this longstanding Bushwakker monthly tradition finally returns! The beer is aptly named and we can’t wait for a volunteer to wield The Mighty Firkin Wakker and tap the firkin at 5:30 PM. Plan to arrive early in order to get a good seat! Special Bushwakker Resurrection t-shirts will be available soon!

 

Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring the HOPPY WIT from Saskatoon’s 9 Mile Legacy Brewing. Up next is the POMEGRANATE PALE ALE from High Key Brewing.

In addition to taking our beer home in glass bottles and 2 litre jugs direct from our pub, you can find a varying selection of 650 ml bottles of Bushwakker beer in ALL SIX REGINA SLGA stores.

Our September PREMIUM WINE FEATURES celebrate California wines! The red is Sterling Vintner’s Collection Pinot Noir. $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre. The white is Three Thieves Pinot Grigio. $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.

This Long Weekend’s Special Dining Feature on September 4^th, 5^th and 6th is a SASK BURGER & A PINT or a WINNIPEG BURGER & A PINT for $21.95. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL will also be available. Our Monday and Wednesday WINGS & A PINT SPECIAL and Tuesday PIZZA & A PINT SPECIAL are also a great value deal.

 

The sold out Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium is here! Enjoy our SASK BURGER & A PINT or WINNIPEG BURGER & A PINT Specials for three glorious days! We will be open Sunday for the game and Labour Day Monday too! History has demonstrated that the burger which sells the best is a strong indicator as to which team will win the Labour Day Classic!

 

We’ll be open from noon to 9:00 PM on Monday, September 6^th. Join us for either our SASK BURGER & A PINT or a WINNIPEG BURGER & A PINT Specials in a more “relaxed” atmosphere.

 

Saskatchewan is home to some of Canada’s best craft beers. Craft breweries have revitalized Saskatchewan communities and neighbourhoods, and become a vital part of the province’s economy and culture. Plan your tour and visit one of the many breweries listed at https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/exploresask-craft-beer-flight   Check in to all 13 locations and get a custom designed Little Town Apparel t-shirt.

 

Our talented kitchen team has been delivering some pretty decadent gourmet game day burgers this summer. Can’t wait to see what the two Labour Day Classic Burger Battle beauties will be this year!

 

We’re hiring! Greater seating capacity and the return to normal hours of operation means we are looking for more serving staff. Stop by and see us with your resume today or apply at  https://bushwakker.com/apply/

 

Our new Bushwakker Online Ordering Page is now live on our website! You can order everything from our food menu as well as our Bushwakker brews and even select the time you’d like to pick up your order. Visit  https://bushwakker.com/shop-2021/ and give it a try! Of course, you can continue to place your orders by calling us at 306-359-7276. We still love to hear your friendly voices. Thanks for your support everyone!

 

BUSHWAKKER “PHASE THREE NEW NORMAL” NOTES

We are open Monday – Thursday from 11:00 AM – midnight. The kitchen closes at 10:30 PM and last call is at11:15 PM. On Fridays and Saturdays we are open from 11:00 AM until 1:00 AM. The kitchen is open until 11:30 PM and last call will be at 12:15 AM. Although we intended to resume Sunday openings starting in September, we have found the labour shortage has not allowed us to do so at this time.

We are very appreciative of the increase in business we have seen since Phase Three of the Saskatchewan Roadmap to Recovery was introduced this July. It has been a challenge to find staff in both the front and in our kitchen. We do apologize for some of the delays in service you may have been experiencing. As our new staff gain more experience we certainly expect our team to once again be the well-oiled machine you are accustomed to seeing.

We are very appreciative of the considerable increase in the number of our takeout food orders. Call us at 306-359-7276 or visit our online ordering page at https://bushwakker.com/shop-2021/

Reservations are accepted and encouraged. We accept a limited number of reservations as late as 6:00 PM every day except Fridays. Fridays we accept reservations as late as 3:00 PM. Call us at 306-359-7276 to secure your table. We are now also able to accommodate larger groups. Our two banquet rooms are also available for private parties. Call Kelly at 306-359-7276 to book either our main floor Arizona Room or basement Clubroom.

Please continue to practice safe health measures. Remain connected to one another and to us! In addition to this weekly newsletter, we are very active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check-in with us often as we navigate these continually evolving times together. Try to support local businesses whenever possible. Be vigilant in your resolve to protect yourselves which in turn will protect others.

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Saskatchewan’s hard-pressed hospitality industry works to stay afloat during 4th wave

Some businesses welcome the idea of vaccine passports

Pratyush Dayal · CBC News

Amid rising COVID-19 case numbers driven by the highly transmissible delta variant, restaurant and bar owners in Saskatchewan are hoping to continue to operate at full capacity.

Sunday marked the third day in a row that Saskatchewan has reported more than 200 cases in a day. The province surpassed 2,000 known active COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

It reported another 199 new cases on Monday.

After a year-and-a-half of labour shortage and closures, businesses in the province long to remain open.

Vaccine passports can be the way

District Brewing Co. in Regina announced on Thursday it would close its table and patio services to keep its staff and customers safe.

Grant Frew, bar manager of Bushwakker Brewing in Regina, said he understands District’s decision, but that it is not doable for his brewpub.

“They’re a big brewery with their beer all over the province. But for somebody like us, most of the beer we produce is consumed in the restaurant. To restrict the seating in our restaurant would make things very fiscally challenging,” Frew said.

During the first few of months of the pandemic, Bushwakker had to downsize from 55 employees to four and was closed for many weeks. It reopened with limited capacity on June 8 of last year.

After a busy summer, uncertainty looms on the horizon again. Frew said Bushwakker has a couple of events lined up for the remainder of the year, including live music performances for the fall. But all that can go out of the window.

“I’m really concerned if they reintroduce physical distancing, we’ll have to remove a number of tables and it simply won’t be feasible for the venue to continue with the live music,” he said.

Frew said he would welcome vaccine passports if it means the establishment can operate with full capacity.

“We have to keep the business alive and our employees working,” he said.

“Over the course of this pandemic, we’ve learned to be nimble and open minded and be willing to change.”

Jurisdictions like B.C. and Quebec have announced systems requiring proof of vaccination to access non-essential businesses.

Starting Sept. 13, British Columbians will be required to prove they’ve had one dose of vaccine to enter restaurants, theatres and other non-essential businesses. B.C. will require the proof of two doses by Oct. 24.

Quebec’s system takes effect on Wednesday. People will have to show their passports — an electronic record of vaccination in the form of a quick response (QR) code —  to get into non-essential services ranging from gyms to zoos.

B.C. and Quebec have seen jumps in COVID-19 vaccinations after instituting their passport systems.

Jason Wosminity, who manages Saskatoon restaurant Las Palapas, said the vaccine uptick associated with passports is a motivation in itself.

“Anything to help this industry recover what we’ve lost would be fantastic. When B.C. instituted vaccine passports, their vaccine rates went up and that helps herd immunity and brings down the delta variants,” Wosminity said.

Wosminity said he knows how important it is to stay safe, as his father was one of the first people to die in Saskatchewan from COVID-19.

“My dad didn’t get a chance to have the vaccine. He would have been first in line to get it. We have the lowest vaccine rates in the country. It needs to change.”

Wosminity said a “grey cloud of uncertainties” looms, even when the restaurant takes all measures to ensure safety of its staff and clientele.

He welcomes the idea of vaccine passports, but doesn’t want to alienate his customers. He is looking for guidance from the government.

“We don’t want to turn away anybody’s business. We’ve struggled so much as it is in the last year and a half,” he said.

“We just need something mandated so that my young staff at the front desk, or myself, aren’t policing anything without there being some backup behind the government to let us do that.”

Saskatoon’s Mayor Charlie Clark has been calling for a vaccine passport to protect against COVID-19, but Premier Scott Moe announced last week that his government will not implement a vaccine mandate and does not plan to introduce vaccine passports.

Industry seems divided on the issue

While B.C.’s hospitality industry has seemed to embrace the idea of staying open with vaccine passports, Jim Bence, president and CEO of Hospitality Saskatchewan, says the hospitality industry in Saskatchewan is divided.

“I can find pockets of operators that would be so on board and few that might not be appreciative of vaccine passports,” Bence said.

Bence said most of his organization’s members are adamant they must remain open, as another closure would be the “single biggest barrier to their survival.”

“In the last 18 months, our industry has become very nimble. Some will move toward a vaccination and masking policy. We’ll support any operator’s decision that’s good for their business,” Bence said.

He said that the industry is also facing a labour shortage, as there are thousands of vacancies, including 597 available positions for cooks in the province.

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TIME OUT  – More Glorious Insults from an Era Before the English Language got Boiled Down to 4-Letter Words

“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.”

George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

“Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one.”

Winston Churchill, in response

 

“I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.”

Stephen Bishop

 

“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.”

John Bright

 

“I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.”

Irvin S. Cobb

“He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.”

Samuel Johnson

 

“He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.”

Paul Keating

 

“In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.”

Charles, Count Talleyrand

 

We certainly hope our Bushwakker MacGregor’s Wee Heavy never elicits such a response!