WHY WE DON’T HAVE A BAR

The legal drinking age in Toronto (Ontario) is nineteen. They lowered it from twenty-one to eighteen some years ago then discovered that a lot of high school students were attending classes after lunch during their last year of school quite legally tipsy. So they upped the age limit to nineteen where it now stands. We don’t have a pub on our premises and that fact is of distinct benefit to a thirsty traveler. You see, it is quite illegal to bring liquor into an establishment licensed to sell alcohol.

So if we had a bar, you would be forced to pay an inflated price for a cold beer on a hot day – usually at least twice the cost of the same bottle at the store. You must also (by law) cease to drink alcohol after the 2 AM Provincial closing time.

We are also in the middle of Toronto’s Entertainment District. There are (off the top of my head) at least fifteen bars and pubs within two blocks of our front door. Within the same radius, there are at least twenty nightclubs to choose from. For those who choose to just sit back, relax and have a quiet drink, it is quite permissible to buy a six-pack (or more) at the beer store and enjoy a drink on our patio or common area. And legally speaking a bar at the hostel would throw the hostel open to the general public.

As it stands, having a drink at the Canadiana is strictly for residents and their guests. You can also drink as late (or early) as you please as long as you don’t disturb other guests who are sleeping. So you decide. Should we open a bar on our premises?