Mimosas for brunch? City wants weekend-morning libations
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Partakers of brunch at Toronto eateries may soon be able to enjoy a spot of sangria with their avocado toast, if city council gets its way.
Councillors voted Tuesday 18-8 in favour of asking the provincial government to allow alcohol service to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sundays — rolling back the current time of 11 a.m.
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The motion, proposed by Councillor Paula Fletcher at Tuesday’s city council meeting, comes with the support of downtown businesses and restaurants.
John Kiru, of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, called the proposal a “positive step” in supporting the over 7,000 restaurants under his organization’s umbrella.
But not everybody was enthusiastic.
“While many suspected Councillor Fletcher was a champagne socialist, this confirms it,” remarked Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, to both snickers and jeers from his fellow councillors.
He took exception that the issue was introduced through a notice-of-motion instead of through conventional channels, such as a committee.
“While it may be an urgent matter in the gentrifying (of) tony areas in Riverdale, for the rest of the city … it’s not,” he said.
He was also concerned at the lack of community input before city council dealt with the issue.
Fletcher said her motion would put restaurants and bars on the same footing as alcohol and soon-to-be-legal retailers of cannabis — recently given the blessing by the province to begin selling weed as early at 9 a.m.
“It’s very unfair that small businesses serving brunch can’t do the same,” she said.
“You can buy marijuana or a bottle of wine, but can’t have wine at a restaurant at brunch.”
The motion’s title — Putting the Mimosa back in Brunch — seemed to confuse Councillor Mike Colle, who’d never heard of the popular champagne-and-orange juice cocktail until Tuesday.
“I mistakenly thought mimosa were like samosas,” he said, referring to the tasty east-Asian meat-and-potato filled pastry available at all hours.
Mayor John Tory told the Toronto Sun rolling back weekend serving hours only makes sense.
“If you can walk into the LCBO and a grocery store to buy the ingredients for a mimosa on a weekend morning, you should be able to walk into one of our city’s restaurants or bars and order the same thing,” he said.
“It’s just a matter of fairness for our hardworking restaurateurs.”
Requests for comment from Ontario Attorney General Caroline Mulroney weren’t returned by press time.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
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