Booze boundaries: Humble Barber now serving non-alcoholic beer after licence denied
A barber in P.E.I. who has been fighting to get a liquor licence is cracking the issue open again by selling non-alcoholic beer.
Sean Aylward, owner of The Humble Barber, with locations in Summerside and Charlottetown, has been applying and reapplying for a licence to sell beer in his shops for two years.
He has been fighting with government over language in the law that has allowed salons and spas to serve alcohol but not barbershops. The issue has left him frothing with frustration.
"I've given up believing that they're going to do anything for me. There is no one I can talk to anymore," said Aylward.
"I've had multiple ministers involved. I've talked to every level in our government."
So instead of making phone calls he's now serving up non-alcoholic beer as a form of protest. He's even chosen a beer named to get his message across: Budweiser Prohibition Brew.
"The decision was made just to kind of highlight the absurdity of it all," he said.
"I'm still selling beer, I'm not able to buy any local products instead I have to buy the Budweiser Prohibition, I feel that this is a prohibition of sorts so it was a good opportunity for me to just kind of shed some light just on how dumb it's all been."
Customers supportive
He's taken to social media to get his point across too.
Aylward said his customers have been extremely supportive during the whole ordeal, and continue to, by buying the cans of beer for the $3 he is charging, just enough to cover costs according to Aylward.
"I've sold quite a few, everyone wants to support the cause, anyone who comes to the shop wants to talk about it and can't believe how stupid and how unfair the whole process has been," he said
"People are like really pretending to enjoy it and be happy about it, which is really great of my customers, but I know, I as much as them want to see them with a real P.E.I.-brewed beer."
Business community behind him
One of those regular customers is Dan Kutcher, president of the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce, he said the chamber has been supportive of Aylward and his fight.
"At the end of the day we struggle to find any reason why I shouldn't be able to sit down and have pint of beer after I get a hair cut.To us it just really doesn't make any sense," Kutcher said
"We'd love to see is government as much as possible enable people to do more business here, to create more business here, to sell more products and deliver more services. So when we see what appear to be arbitrary decisions with respect to selling some beer at a barbershop, it's disheartening."
Aylward said he will continue to sell non-alcoholic beer until either government changes their minds, or there is a new government that will grant him a licence.
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