Vancouver’s restaurants, bars and cafés shape how people experience the city. On October 2, the people who run and work in those spaces will get a chance to hear directly from the candidates hoping to lead it.
Chef’s Favourite is hosting Candidates on Crates, a Vancouver mayoral candidate forum focused on the hospitality industry. James Grass, founder of Chef’s Favourite and host of its Mates on Crates series, will moderate the conversation at Bargreen Ellingson’s loading dock in East Vancouver.
The event is billed as a forum rather than a traditional debate. Candidates will have an opportunity to discuss how City Hall decisions affect restaurants, bars, cafés, venues, suppliers, contractors and hospitality workers.
What has changed for Vancouver hospitality?
The conversation comes after several years of changes to the rules businesses work under.
In 2023, the City established a Hospitality Sector Working Group and began allowing restaurants to submit business licence, development permit and liquor licence applications at the same time. Later that year, council removed liquor establishment distancing requirements and lifted restrictions on new establishments or seat expansions in areas including Gastown, Chinatown and the Granville Entertainment District.
In 2025, council expanded the hours businesses can apply to serve liquor. Licensed restaurants became eligible to apply for service until 2 a.m. every night. Bars, pubs and nightclubs gained the option to apply for later closing times, depending on their location. Those hours are available through an application; they are not automatic for every venue.
Patios have also remained part of the conversation. For the 2026 summer season, the City waived permit fees for small private patios, reduced renewal fees for larger private patios and simplified requirements for many summer patio structures. These are practical changes for operators who count on outdoor seating during Vancouver’s warmer months.
The question now is what comes next. More flexibility on paper can help an operator open, expand or try a new idea. The people doing that work can also speak to how the rules play out in practice, from approval timelines to the experience of running a venue late at night.
A chance to hear each candidate’s priorities
Chef’s Favourite says all eight registered Vancouver mayoral candidates are participating:
- Ken Sim, ABC Vancouver
- Colleen Hardwick, TEAM
- Pete Fry, Green
- Rebecca Bligh, Vote Vancouver
- Muhammad Ahmad, Bright Future Vancouver
- Amauri Caliman, independent
- Kareem Allam, Vancouver Liberals
- Scott Gilbert, independent
For hospitality workers and business owners, the forum offers a chance to compare more than campaign slogans. What would each candidate do to make it easier to open a restaurant? How would they support nightlife while addressing safety for workers, guests and neighbours? Which recent changes would they keep, and where do they see more work to do?
Those questions reach well beyond any one dining room or bar. A busy café depends on its suppliers and staff. A live music venue depends on the people who put on shows and the customers who can get home afterward. Decisions about permits, streets and public spaces all shape the experience.
Grass brings an industry perspective to the discussion. Chef’s Favourite says it has produced more than 300 interviews over the past two years, using Mates on Crates to introduce Vancouverites to the people behind local hospitality businesses.
Candidates on Crates takes place Friday, October 2, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Bargreen Ellingson loading dock, 1250 E Georgia Street, Vancouver. Media interested in attending are asked to RSVP at [email protected].
The forum should give Vancouver’s hospitality community a clearer sense of how each candidate sees the industry’s future, and what they would do at City Hall to support it.
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