Five years ago, I would’ve called anyone I heard uttering the words written in that headline a heretic. It’s an old argument, and a common one still: The Donnelly Group is guilty of homogenizing Vancouver’s bar culture, distilling all personality, and flavour for…what exactly? I never had the answer, exactly. Still don’t, in fact, but I was angry about it.
Now, go, figure, 30-year-old Stephen actively seeks out Donnelly joints when I’m downtown. Why? Because – I’ve recently discovered – the Donnellys have great freakin’ taste in beer.
They’re also the only major pub/restaurant group in Vancouver to fully embrace craft beer culture. Like, the Lamplighter? In Gastown? It has 50 taps featuring an assortment of craft beers from BC and beyond. It’s the piece de resistance for the Donnelly Group’s beer program, and something you won’t see at Cactus Club or Earl’s any time soon.
When the Lampligher’s 50 taps were unveiled, it honestly felt, for those (like me) who’d written them off, as a coming out party for the New Era of Donnelly.
Which of course makes Damon Holowchak laugh. The Donnelly Group’s marketing director says those taps have been the culmination of a beer program that’s been evolving for at least five years. Yes, the Lamplighter pledging allegiance to the craft beer revolution, but it’s by no means a reaction to the zeitgeist.
“It’s funny to hear it’s the ‘new era of Donnelly.’ I guess it is, but it’s also the new era of the business,” Holowchak says. “This is where the market’s going. This is where people are going.”
Five years ago, Trevor Kallies certainly saw it coming. The Donnelly’s bar and beverage director noticed the growing popularity of craft beer and the increased quality of beers produced in BC. He realized that the Donnelly Group had an opportunity to set themselves apart from their competition by embracing the segment of the industry.
It was a gamble, placing their bets on craft beer at a time when the industry was just a fraction of the market share that it is today. Kallies says they’ve walked away from the support – and the money – of the macro brewers by rejecting Kokanee and Budweiser at some of their bars, the Lamplighter included.
“I want to give all the breweries the chance,” Kallies says. “I want these young guys who are investing their life savings – if not more – to have the opportunity to sell their beer.”
They’re not ruled by benevolence, obviously. At 18 per cent of the liquor market in BC, craft beer is big money. Damon says installing the 50 taps at the Lamplighter has been a “very smart business decision” – so smart, in fact, they’ll be installing 50 more at their oyster bar, the Blackbird, in a few weeks.
But the Donnelly Group is in a unique position – with considerable corporate muscle, the abundance of drinking establishments around the city and a mainstream customer bas – to introduce new BC craft beer a large segment of the booze-swilling public that might not otherwise have had the opportunity. This means they have stayed on pace with, if not ahead of, popular tastes, and it’s paying off.
“I think the consumer’s grown up. Like the palate’s different,” Holowchak says. “It wasn’t just us that made big changes. The market’s changed drastically.”
Now, I realize none of this addresses the intitial charge against the Donnelly Group – that they have (or had) homogenized local pub culture. There's a case for that, but Holowchak says the look and feel of their pubs has always been an attempt to reflect the neighburhoods and clientele they're serving. As the customer taste changes, so do their establishments.
Their devotion to beer is one aspect of the Donnelly Group moving toward more refined, experiential business practices. They’ve opened a classy (by my standards, anyway) oyster bar (the Blackbird) and several barbershops. They’ve invested in comedy nights. Like the beer program, they've been working on their food program for years. It seems designed to draw those people in who never had time for a Donnelly joint, though I couldn't get Holowchak to admit it.
And you know what? It's worked. Call me a changed man. Beer saves the day again. What a surprise.
Follow this writer here on Twitter, @stephensmys. He could really use the followers.
