Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Moments Of Beauty
Last Sunday afternoon saw me sitting in Slainte By The Pier in White Rock. The weekly Sunday afternoon Celtic Music Session was in full swing, and Laine Henderson, cradling her youngest child was delivering a beautiful Irish ballad, in that clear as glass voice of hers. Sunlight was bouncing across the water, and I realized we were sharing one of those moments we would trade it all for to experience once again. I'm grateful....
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A letter I wrote to the Peace Arch News in White Rock
To the Editor, Peace Arch News
Re: Row Over Restaurant (P.A.N. 3-11-09)
After having attended the meeting at city hall regarding the West Beach Bar & Grill's application for a variance on their existing liquor license, and having been quoted in the aforementioned article, I am compelled to write this missive, as one way of restating my support for the application, and admittedly, to draw attention to the powerful inconsistencies presented by a cabal of citizens so caught up in their opposition, that respect for objective evidence and common sense has taken a back seat to small town political histrionics.
So inflammatory was the rhetoric posited on this evening, I thought for certain that responsibility for gang wars and the current financial meltdown was going to be laid at the feet of this 9 month old restaurant. I jest of course, but my point has to be made emphatically. This establishment cannot be held liable for the scurrilous accusations hurled in their direction, many of which bordered on libelous. I can cite far too many instances of patently wrong information being fed to the gallery by those opposed, yet the supporters of the application took the high road, preferring to demonstrate to council the quality of people that habituate the West Beach.
Here are some simple unadorned truths that your readers should know. This application amounts to a modification of an existing license. It simply takes the existing license, and tacks on the opportunity for patron participation, the most obvious being the ability to jig by the table if the spirit moves. Business hours will NOT change, nor will the stipulation that the license be food primary. Claims that the food primary component of the current license is being abused are uninformed conjectures. The ratios are documented, as they must be fastidiously reported. It seems odd in this day and age that specific permissions must be applied for to allow a couple dining out on their 10th anniversary the opportunity to waltz to their favorite song, but that is the law, and the proprietors are doing their due diligence in this application. I can tell you from observation that the staff do their very best to ensure that patrons play by the current rules. While the license application opens up the potential for karaoke sessions, I can assure the general public that the proprietors have a very short fuse when it comes to mediocre or worse vocalizing. That bias virtually guarantees that karaoke is a non starter at the West Beach. The West Beach is a restaurant, plain and simple, but with the real human appeal of a highly socialized household. The live music and other ambient touches greatly enhance the experience of the patrons, (as well as the consistently good food) and this business model has been a recipe for success, especially given the local White Rock based support for this business. Everyone knows that Marine Drive has been a virtual graveyard for well meaning entrepreneurs who could not survive the cold shoulder that local consumers gave them in the long off season, yet the West Beach survives and thrives, because they have given locals a place to call home, and have rewarded the West Beach with their continued patronage. The West Beach knows the formula that gave them this devoted and expanding clientele, and have no intention of modifying that, with or without the variance.
Another truth the public ought to know is that some of the highest caliber of people I have met are West Beach devotees, and to put it bluntly, find the characterizations of the clientele as forwarded by many of the naysayers highly charged and acutely offensive. It is very difficult to find middle ground when confronted by these high grade hostilities, yet I am consistently impressed by the proprietors insistence on offering olive branches in the face of them.
In conclusion, I can only hope council has the wisdom and insight to recognize the dreary predictability of these shockingly misinformed NIMBY attitudes and objections, and demonstrate support for a business that forwards a positive social climate, and a consequently upbeat environment for businesses to survive all year round on the most popular seasonal destination this side of the Fraser. This council witnessed the quality of people who took time out of their lives to enthusiastically support this business, as well as the stack of supportive petitions and letters furnished to them. Do the math council. The electorate is watching...
Tony Chamberlist
Gordon Ave,
White Rock
Re: Row Over Restaurant (P.A.N. 3-11-09)
After having attended the meeting at city hall regarding the West Beach Bar & Grill's application for a variance on their existing liquor license, and having been quoted in the aforementioned article, I am compelled to write this missive, as one way of restating my support for the application, and admittedly, to draw attention to the powerful inconsistencies presented by a cabal of citizens so caught up in their opposition, that respect for objective evidence and common sense has taken a back seat to small town political histrionics.
So inflammatory was the rhetoric posited on this evening, I thought for certain that responsibility for gang wars and the current financial meltdown was going to be laid at the feet of this 9 month old restaurant. I jest of course, but my point has to be made emphatically. This establishment cannot be held liable for the scurrilous accusations hurled in their direction, many of which bordered on libelous. I can cite far too many instances of patently wrong information being fed to the gallery by those opposed, yet the supporters of the application took the high road, preferring to demonstrate to council the quality of people that habituate the West Beach.
Here are some simple unadorned truths that your readers should know. This application amounts to a modification of an existing license. It simply takes the existing license, and tacks on the opportunity for patron participation, the most obvious being the ability to jig by the table if the spirit moves. Business hours will NOT change, nor will the stipulation that the license be food primary. Claims that the food primary component of the current license is being abused are uninformed conjectures. The ratios are documented, as they must be fastidiously reported. It seems odd in this day and age that specific permissions must be applied for to allow a couple dining out on their 10th anniversary the opportunity to waltz to their favorite song, but that is the law, and the proprietors are doing their due diligence in this application. I can tell you from observation that the staff do their very best to ensure that patrons play by the current rules. While the license application opens up the potential for karaoke sessions, I can assure the general public that the proprietors have a very short fuse when it comes to mediocre or worse vocalizing. That bias virtually guarantees that karaoke is a non starter at the West Beach. The West Beach is a restaurant, plain and simple, but with the real human appeal of a highly socialized household. The live music and other ambient touches greatly enhance the experience of the patrons, (as well as the consistently good food) and this business model has been a recipe for success, especially given the local White Rock based support for this business. Everyone knows that Marine Drive has been a virtual graveyard for well meaning entrepreneurs who could not survive the cold shoulder that local consumers gave them in the long off season, yet the West Beach survives and thrives, because they have given locals a place to call home, and have rewarded the West Beach with their continued patronage. The West Beach knows the formula that gave them this devoted and expanding clientele, and have no intention of modifying that, with or without the variance.
Another truth the public ought to know is that some of the highest caliber of people I have met are West Beach devotees, and to put it bluntly, find the characterizations of the clientele as forwarded by many of the naysayers highly charged and acutely offensive. It is very difficult to find middle ground when confronted by these high grade hostilities, yet I am consistently impressed by the proprietors insistence on offering olive branches in the face of them.
In conclusion, I can only hope council has the wisdom and insight to recognize the dreary predictability of these shockingly misinformed NIMBY attitudes and objections, and demonstrate support for a business that forwards a positive social climate, and a consequently upbeat environment for businesses to survive all year round on the most popular seasonal destination this side of the Fraser. This council witnessed the quality of people who took time out of their lives to enthusiastically support this business, as well as the stack of supportive petitions and letters furnished to them. Do the math council. The electorate is watching...
Tony Chamberlist
Gordon Ave,
White Rock
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