THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1622 – Posted on: 28-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 UPENDI PINEAPPLE PASSION FRUIT ALE is now on tap and in our offsale. It is also available for growler fills. A batch of PONCE DE LEON BLACKBERRY/RASPBERRY ALE will soon be making 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.
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring the NOT SHORT, JUST STOUT – OATMEAL STOUT from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing. This will be followed by the UNO IPA from Swift Current’s Black Bridge Brewery.
FEBRUARY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. This month’s featured wines are from South Africa. The red is 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.
Our Special Weekend Dining Feature this February 25th & 26th is BBQ RIBS for $22.95. 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 great value deals.
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.
Did you hear the news? We’ve got three new non-al craft brews! Red Racer Street Legal Pilsner and IPA as well as CRFT Velvety Stout.
Feb. 28: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE MINISTRY OF GROOVE. Lively 1970’S jazz funk and more! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Mar. 2: Wednesday Folk Night: HOLLY POP & BRAD PAPP. Up-and-coming young singer/songwriter is joined by her veteran guitar strummin’ Dad! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Mar. 5: FREE SATURDAY AFTERNOON BLUES SHOWCASE. Presented in conjunction with the Mid-Winter Blues Festival. Back after a two year hiatus! Enjoy three great local blues acts from 1:30 PM until 4:45 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.
As per the Saskatchewan government announcement earlier this month, mandatory masking in all restaurants and pubs will remain in effect until the end of February but Proof of Vaccination is no longer a requirement as of February 14th. 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.
No more Proof of Vaccination required for restaurant dining as of February 14th. However, we have received many customer comments stating they will be reluctant to visit us because they are fearful of Covid. To put our vaccinated customers who may have immunodeficiency concerns, family health concerns or simply are not comfortable with the latest easing of health restrictions somewhat at ease, we will make our Arizona Room available to them. Customers choosing to sit in this room will be required to provide Proof of Vaccination and ID. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated customers are most certainly welcome at Bushwakker and are invited to sit in the main pub area. Thank you to our legion of Bushwakker fans for your continued enthusiastic support!
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. Our basement clubroom is also available for private parties. Call Kelly at 306-359-7276 for private room bookings.
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.
Regina brewpub creates vaccinated-only room to quell COVID-19 concerns
Most of Bushwakker Brewpub’s customers appreciate move, says bar manager.
· CBC News ·
Grant Frew, bar manager at Bushwakker Brewpub in Regina, says creating a separate room for vaccinated-only customers helps to put those who are immunocompromised or those worried about the lifting of restrictions at ease. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
Regina’s Bushwakker Brewpub thinks it’s created a solution for customers hesitant about dining out after the province’s proof-of-vaccination or negative test requirement was lifted on Feb. 14.
The restaurant, located in the city’s Warehouse district, has reserved its Arizona Room — a banquet room that seats about 50 people — exclusively for customers fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who are concerned about restrictions lifting, or are immunocompromised.
Grant Frew, Bushwakker’s bar manager, said the idea came after the brewpub heard from some of its older clientele.
“They’re a little bit more conservative,” said Frew. “And they were telling us with the drop of proof-of-vaccination, we probably wouldn’t be seeing them for a while.”
Bushwakker’s Arizona Room, which can seat up to 50 patrons, has already seen several groups of people take advantage of its newly-minted, vaccinated-only status. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
Like many businesses in the hospitality industry, Frew said Bushwakker has been trying to recover from the financial hardship the pandemic has caused. And staff didn’t want to lose the customers they’d come to know for nearly 30 years.
“We wanted to simply create a place where they can feel safe and comfortable,” he said.
Jim Bence, president of the industry association Hospitality Saskatchewan, applauded Bushwakker for its creativity. He hasn’t heard of any other restaurants or businesses in the province that have done something similar yet.
Carol Kliever and her daughter Jessica were also impressed and were excited to eat in the Arizona Room on Friday.
Jessica, 19, has congestive heart failure and had previously relied on the proof-of-vaccination policy when going out to eat.
“She’s very isolated and she felt quite comfortable going into restaurants knowing … she felt fairly safe,” Carol Kliewer said, noting that changed with the lifting of the restrictions.
“It’s like putting a wheelchair ramp onto the street,” she said. “You’re giving an option to immune-compromised people to have a safer choice.”
Frew stressed unvaccinated customers are still welcome in the 200-seat main dining room of the restaurant — along with vaccinated customers who choose not to eat in the Arizona Room.
With birthday and retirement parties slowing due to the pandemic, Frew said that room was sitting empty more than usual and he felt this would be an opportunity to make use of it.
A few groups of all ages have used it since it opened Feb. 14, and Frew expects it will get busier.
Mixed reaction on social media
However, the restaurant’s post about the room on Facebook has received comments complaining vaccinated and unvaccinated people are being segregated.
“Over here bringing back the ‘coloured section’ like it didn’t go out of style,” reads one comment.
Others have questioned Bushwakker using the same staff for each part of the restaurant.
Frew said all staff are vaccinated and he believes the people who complained don’t fully understand the idea.
“We’re not trying to segregate anybody,” Frew said. “Everybody is welcome at Bushwakker.”
Barb Byers and her husband weren’t deterred by the negative comments. Byers said once the proof-of-vaccination or negative test requirement ended they were planning to avoid restaurants for a few months, but they changed their minds when they heard about Bushwakker’s room.
Barb Byers said she felt safe eating in the vaccinated-only section of Bushwakker Brewpub. She says it’s important to support local businesses who are working to keep people healthy. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
“We said: ‘That’s where we’re going to go,'” said Byers. “We’re going to go and support a business that supports keeping people healthy.”
Byers has since shared the news on Twitter, encouraging others to try the room out.
“This is safety for me and for the people I love.”
TIME OUT- A Bear Walks Into A Bar
One day, a bear walks into a bar. He sits down at the counter, and the bartender comes over.
“What’ll it be?” asks the bartender.
“I’ll have a… beer,” the bear says.
“Alright, one beer for the bear. But I gotta ask, why the big pause?” asks the bartender.
“I don’t know,” says the bear. “I was born with them.”
Now that’s a Saskatchewan winter festival snow sculpture we’d like to see!
