Months into patio season, beloved back alley bar in Vancouver fears permit delay will force permanent closure

Chupito, a Mexican-inspired cocktail bar and eatery in downtown Vancouver, by day and night. The outdoor-only business has yet to open for its third season due to permit delays, and worries it may not be able to survive the wait for much longer. (Instagram/ Chupito)

This patio season should have been one of Chupito's most successful to date, after the back alley bar was listed as a recommended restaurant in Vancouver's new Michelin Guide.

Patrons haven’t been able to enjoy a Mexican-inspired cocktail or meal at 322 W. Hastings St. since last summer, however, because the City of Vancouver has rejected Chupito’s application for the same summer patio permit it’s operated under since 2021.

The issue at hand is a shipping container that’s been on site for years.

“It’s not like Chupito has been a secret,” the restaurant’s managing partner, Tara Davies, told CTV News on Friday. “On our end, the shipping container has remained the exact same since year one.”

She says city staff have visited the site multiple times—including in November 2021 to ask the business to take down tents that were set up to provide cover in case of rain. The business complied with the request and continued operating legally under the Temporary Expedited Patio Program for two years.

According to Davies, the city is arguing that the structure is new because an architect drew it in more detail for Chupito’s 2023 patio application.

A summer patio permit costs just $438, but businesses have to reapply for it every year. Now, with the only option being to apply for a permanent patio license, Davies says she and her business partner have paid a $4,000 fee to the city, hired architects to produce multiple drawings and arranged for costly legal counsel.

Still, that hasn’t been enough to get the green light to open up shop, and Davies worries Chupito won’t be able to survive the wait.

On Thursday, the same day Davies began speaking with local media outlets about the permitting debacle, the city reached out with an updated timeline.

She’s been told that by the end of next week—halfway into July—Chupito might be granted permission to open.

“To be frank, I don’t really have faith in their timeline anymore,” Davies said.

She believes the bar could have opened as early as April, since the weather in Vancouver has been so sunny and warm.

For every week Chupito remains closed, Davies estimates the business is losing $15,000 in sales. When it comes to incurred costs, she believes Chupito is down at least $80,000.

Davies and her business partner Marcelo Ramirez also own and operate the adjacent restaurant La Taqueria and the street-facing bar Cantina 189. The pair opened Chupito during the pandemic, when the city was encouraging businesses to come up with creative ideas for outdoor spaces due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission indoors.

Ramirez and Davies pitched the idea of utilizing the empty lot behind La Taqueria, which was originally slated to be a parking lot, but hadn’t been utilized in years.

“Him being from Mexico and me living there very long term, we just kind of wanted to teach people about the dining and cocktail culture there,” Davies said. “Chupito was our love letter to Mexico and it was just really well received.”

She’s also proud of the way the space attracts people who wouldn’t normally walk in downtown alleyways, encouraging them to interact with people living less fortunate lives.

“I thought that was a beautiful aspect of Chupito—it was bringing communities together that wouldn’t have otherwise corresponded. I think we did bring some safety to that alleyway,” she explained.

Now, the owners have been dealing with vandalism they never experienced while the space was up and running. The outdoor heaters have been intentionally damaged and multiple break-ins and attempts have occurred, including at La Taqueria.

While it’s not without fear of repercussions from the city, Davies says she’s speaking out in hopes of helping small businesses like hers in the future.

“The thing I’m trying to achieve is just to get the city’s attention so that not only can we get some movement on our project and hopefully not have to cease it entirely, but also so that this doesn’t happen for other small businesses in the future,” explained Davies, a first-time business owner. “We can encourage creativity in small businesses trying to do things differently.”

In an email to CTV News Friday afternoon, the City of Vancouver said it understands the frustration the establishment is experiencing and is “working quickly to resolve this application and help them receive their permit.”

“The Temporary Expedited Patio Program (TEPP) was launched in 2020 to help bars and restaurants safely welcome customers through the pandemic, while maintaining physical distancing,” Andrea Law, the city’s general manager of development and building services said in the email. “As the patio program was initially temporary, off-site loading requirements were relaxed and TEPP patios were permitted to be placed in off-site loading spaces.”

Law added that the program was “incredibly successful” and the city has regularized the opportunity for restaurants to have seasonal or year-round patios.

“Businesses looking to transition their TEPP patios to permanent patios may have additional requirements, such as off-site loading,” said Law. “This application is currently under review to ensure an off-site loading area remains, so that loading does not occur on the streets and impact pedestrians, bikes and vehicles.”