Canada World Cup victory spurs record beer sales on Granville Street

The partying after Canada's victory over Qatar lasted well into the night in downtown Vancouver.

The staff at Donnellan’s Irish Pub are used to pulling plenty of pints.

But as Canadian soccer fans flooded Granville Street following Thursday’s historic 6-0 win over Qatar, an unquenchable World Cup thirst set in, with new records being set well beyond the field of play.

“We probably sold as much beer yesterday, in one hour, as we would typically sell in a week at all seven of our locations,” owner William Donnellan said of his chain of Irish pubs, two of which are on Granville.

“We made record sales. We’ve never, ever, done sales like that. Not even on St. Patrick’s Day.”

It was a similar story at Good Co. Granville, among the bars dealing with a party that went well into the night.

“(It was) our biggest night ever in the history of Good Co. Granville here and it was massive,” said Alvaro Prol, the CEO of Good Co. Bars parent company Blueprint.

“(It’s) a huge relief. I didn’t know it was going to be this great … it was beyond our expectation. It’s absolutely incredible. I’m really proud of Vancouver.”

The hope now from some of those in the hospitality industry is that Granville’s pedestrian-only zone is here to stay.

“I have a feeling that that’s going to continue, you know, through the summer and it might even continue past that,” Donnellan said. “Lots of people are pushing for that.”

It’s a party bars and pubs have been waiting a long time for after a tough few years dealing with public safety and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Granville Street is our entertainment district and it’s great to see it back to its best,” said Donnellan. “I’ve never witnessed anything like this. But this is the biggest sporting event in the world. We are on the world stage, and we are doing a great job. So well done to everybody involved.”

While Thursday night will live long in the memory, the party isn’t over yet.

There are five matches still left to play in Vancouver, including at least one involving Canada.