THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1619 – Posted on: 07-February-2022
Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our famous BLACKBERRY MEAD is still available in our offsale but is no longer available on tap. Our seasonal ORANGERINE FRUIT BEER is on tap and in our offsale! A batch of UPENDI PINEAPPLE PASSIONFRUIT ALE is working its way through the brewery. 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 a number of REGINA SLGA stores.
Much thanks to Tourism Regina for sharing in the love of our famous Blackberry Mead! Our mead is no longer on tap but we filled a huge amount of bottles this time around and there are still some available in our offsale. Come taste our winter specialty!
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring LONDON FOG PORTER from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing. Next up is ESTER-HAZY IPA from Regina’s Warehouse Brewing.
FEBRUARY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. This month’s featured wines are from South Africa. The red is a Inception Deep Layered Red (Shiraz, Petit Verdot and Mourvedre) and the white is The Beachhouse (Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.) Both are $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
This Bev Day Celebration Weekend February 4th & 5th Special Dining Feature is PORTERED BEEF RIBS. Many of Bev’s other favourite dishes and drinks will also be served. 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 great value deals.
The brand new FROST Winter Festival comes to Regina this weekend and will take place at four hubs in the city February 4 – 13. The Warehouse District will transform the former railyard space into an illuminated Winter Wonderland featuring signature art installations, an ice bar, snow sculptures, Gummy Bear picnic art, disc golf, free hot cocoa & artisan fire pits, BBQ, DJs, dance and video performances. Feel free to stop by The Bushwakker if you need a warm meal and refreshing pint!
Best of Food Regina 2022 has begun! Now is your chance to nominate your favourite restaurants, cafes, pubs and shops. Just head on over to prairiedogmag.com or visit https://prairiedogmag.com/best-of-food-2022/#// Nominations will be accepted until March 14, so don’t delay.
Feb. 4: FIRST FIRKIN”ESQUE” FRIDAY. We have a very special brew prepared for our Bev Day Weekend event and we don’t want to waste a single drop! We love and appreciate our volunteer firkin tappers but their aim is not always as accurate as we would like. So rather than the normal First Firkin Friday pomp and circumstance, we will simply have a commemorative (and rather costly) beer on tap. It combines Bev’s national award-winning Palliser Porter infused with Glenmorangie Original single malt scotch. It goes on tap at 11:00 AM. Only one keg available. Enjoy while quantities last!
Feb. 4 & 5: BEV DAY WEEKEND. Last year’s inaugural BEV DAY was such a success that we will make a weekend out of it this year! Come enjoy the favourite food and drink our late co-founder loved so much.
Feb. 7: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. SHANE & ETHAN REOCH. Father and son blues duo return after a long Bushwakker hiatus. We can’t wait to hear this talented act once again. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Feb. 9: Wednesday Folk Night. TOMMY JOHN EHMAN DUO. Talented Craik, Saskatchewan duo delivers Country/alt-country/roots/ Canadiana and a little folk music too! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
BUSHWAKKER “NEW NORMAL” NOTES
New Hours! We are open Monday – Thursday from 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM. The kitchen closes at 8:30 PM and last call is at 9:15 PM. Fridays and Saturdays we are open from 11:00 AM until 11:00 PM. The kitchen is open until 9:30 PM and last call is at 10:15 PM.
The government of Saskatchewan announced on January 12th, 2022 that the Mandatory Masking and Proof of Vaccination mandates for all pubs and restaurants would remain in place until the end of February. Please be sure you are wearing a mask upon entering and leaving Bushwakker and even if you just need to get up to use the washroom. Masks are not required when you are seated and are eating or drinking. If you forget to bring a mask, we can provide you with a new one. Proof of Vaccination is also required for offsale beer purchases.
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.
Mixed reaction from restaurants to premier’s plan for health order removal
“The big question would be, if the unvaccinated return, how are the vaccinated going to feel about that? I suspect, there would probably be a little bit of concern.”
Alec Salloum
Grant Frew, bar manager of Bushwakker stands for a portrait on Tuesday. Frew said the proposed lifting of restrictions may not have an immediate, positive effect on many restaurants. PHOTO BY KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post
Regina restaurants are waiting to see what comes next after Premier Scott Moe said that proof of vaccination orders for businesses will soon be scrapped.
Grant Frew, the bar manager of Bushwakker Brewing, said when the order requiring proof of vaccination for indoor diners first came down in October, there was a lull in business, but that might have had more to do with the ramping up of the fall’s Delta wave of COVID-19 .
Were the public health orders to be lifted now, Frew says businesses might see an uptick in sales.
“I suspect that it would probably be a net benefit in the long run,” said Frew, but “the big question would be: If the unvaccinated return, how are the vaccinated going to feel about that? I suspect, there would probably be a little bit of concern.”
As for whether or not now is the time to make changes, Frew said the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province would seem to say no.
“It seems like we’re getting close to where we were in October when patients were being sent to other provinces,” said Frew. He feels that a customer’s willingness to go out in public is tied to rates of hospitalizations and new infections across the city or province.
“I hope it’s an educated guess and not a gamble,” he said.
He wants to see a gradual relaxing of the orders, since in his estimation, if things were dropped immediately it “might be a little bit more concerning for customers.”
Tim Rodgers, co-owner of The Lancaster Taphouse, views dropping the proof-of-vaccine requirement as “nothing but a good thing.”
“You know, we fully stand behind the precautions that the province has taken,” he said. “It’s hard to see how it’s done a lot of good with the general public, because, you know, it’s mostly been on just restaurants.”
Liquor stores, theatres and marijuana dispensaries have also been subject to proof of vaccination checks.
Amanda Carter, the owner of Bar WIillow, isn’t sure if the relaxing current public health orders will help businesses.
“The majority of people are vaccinated, so for the few that aren’t, I just don’t see it increasing our business exponentially or at all,” she said. “You might actually lose people because people won’t feel as comfortable coming out.”
Her concern is that the current order allows for a degree of comfort for customers who know that the people in close proximity, who are not wearing masks while eating or drinking, are vaccinated.
It especially puts restaurant staff in a bind, she said, since they have to be in close proximity to people who may no longer be required to show their proof of vaccination.
“We’re one of the only industries where we’re dealing with customers face-to-face where they’re unmasked,” she said. “It puts us in a precarious position.”
Moe has claimed part of the reason to remove vaccine passports is because vaccines do not curb the spread of the Omicron variant. On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) issued a statement pushing back on Moe’s reasoning.
“The premier’s statements continue to ignore the advice of medical experts at a time when COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached their highest levels since the start of the pandemic,” Dr. Eben Strydom, president of SMA, said in the statement.
The press release went on to recommend that current health measures be extended and said Moe’s spitballing of lifting current orders “could scarcely come at a worse time.”
“It is too soon to loosen, or remove, public health measures,” said Strydom, who recommended the government stay the course with current measures.
TIME OUT- Still More Random Insights on Life
15. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?”
16. When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery?
17. I don’t mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.
18. When I ask for directions, please don’t use words like “east.”
19. Don’t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That’ll freak you right out.
20. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops.
21. My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.
