Restaurants and bars have differing stances on what to do with Diageo products

Of the local restaurants spoken to by the River Town Times last week, some are choosing to keep Diageo products on their shelves for the time being while others have chosen to pull them off. - Photo by Windsor Aerial Drone Photography

Establishments around Amherstburg have slightly differing stances on the pulling of Diageo products though many have given the matter serious thought.

While none of the restaurants or bars spoken to by the River Town Times were happy with the decision by Diageo to close the Amherstburg plant and shift the jobs elsewhere, approaches differ as to when or if Crown Royal and other Diageo products should be taken down.

“The AMA Sportsmen’s Club will support the people of Amherstburg and the families affected by the announcement that Diageo plans to close the bottling plant,” the club posted on Facebook last Wednesday. “If after February they do close this plant the AMA Sportsmen’s Club will stop offering Crown Royal and 83 whiskey. Until then we will support these workers by offering the very whisky these hard worker bottle every day.”

Club president Rodney Ferriss said it is their way to support the workers still employed with Diageo.

“The workers are still working there,” he said.

Ferriss said they have several club members who are employed with Diageo as well as retirees from the company and the decision was made after consulting with them. He referenced last week’s news conference in Kitchener where Premier Doug Ford poured out a bottle of Crown Royal in support of the Diageo workers in Amherstburg.

“The government says pour out your whisky and boycott. Why boycott them? They’re still working,” said Ferriss.

Ferriss was hopeful the union – Unifor Local 200 – could negotiate something so the plant stays in place. 

“A lot of people understand our thoughts,” he said. “Give the union time to negotiate. Why cut their throats while they are still working?”

Matt Kelly, co-owner of Shooters Roadhouse, said their decision hasn’t been made yet. He said they want to see how things progress between now and February.

Saying “it’s too early to say” whether any liquor will be pulled from shelves, Kelly said they will monitor the situation to see how it develops.

“I won’t say I’m going to ban their products yet,” said Kelly. “I want to see how the workers are treated. If the workers get treated badly and the plant closes, I’ll take down their products.”

Kelly said it is a sad situation for all involved.

“It’s very sad for the town,” he said. “It’s very sad for the people who work there.”

Levels of government should step in and do a better job of protecting Canadian workers, he believed.

Workers have frequented Shooters before, he said, and “any loss of business is not good, especially in these challenging times.”

Kelly added he is up-to-speed on what is happening with the company through people who work there.

“I have many friends who work there also. I’m definitely in the loop,” he said.

While hopeful a solution can be found to keep the St. Arnaud St. plant open, he added “wheels that are in motion are hard to reverse.”

Dave Hayes, owner of Gilligan’s Fire Grill in Amherstburg, said he has already removed Diageo products from his shelves. He said he has Diageo workers who come in and sit at the bar, and didn’t want them to have to look into the bottles on the shelves.

“We did take it down,” said Hayes. “We did it immediately.”

Hayes said the decision was made simply to support the local workers and the Amherstburg community.

“It’s not so much as a bold political statement but those people come here,” he said. “These are our people. It’s more of an Amherstburg statement that we support each other.”

Reaction has been mainly supportive, Hayes added, though he has heard some negative reaction to his decision. He estimated that about 90 per cent of the feedback has been positive.

“I’m not disappointed in my decision,” he said.

Hayes said he understands there still will be bottling and distilling jobs in Canada but it is the people of Amherstburg who pay his bills.

“This is an Amherstburg thing,” he said. “I’m going to do what I can to support as many people as I can here.”

Discussions were had with customers who work at Diageo, he added. Noting he has owned the business for 11 years, Hayes added he is trying to look out for the people in Amherstburg.

Essex MPP Anthony Leardi said at a rally last Wednesday that he poured out all of his Crown Royal and associated products.

“I don’t have any left. I’m not buying any more,” said Leardi. “The LCBO might as well throw out all their Diageo products. No one is going to buy them.”

Restaurants and bars have differing stances on what to do with Diageo products

By Ron Giofu