Tag: Whistler Grocery Store

Shopping on a SundayShopping on a Sunday

January 23, 2024 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

As a resort town, we’re pretty used to finding shops, restaurants, and recreation facilities open most days, including weekends and most holidays. In the 1980s, the idea of shopping on Sunday was debated in municipalities across British Columbia and, in some places, could be quite divisive. When the Grocery Store was getting ready to open in January 1981, it was even unclear whether it could technically be open seven days a week.

The first federal legislation governing Sunday operations, the Lord’s Day Act, was introduced in 1907 and prohibited “commercial activity” on Sundays with few exceptions. Because of jurisdictional debate, provinces also created their own versions of this type of legislation, often called “blue laws.” These laws were becoming less popular by the 1950s and by the 1960s some municipalities were petitioning the provincial government to amend their charters to allow certain commercial activities on Sundays. In Vancouver, for example, people voted to allow sports such as baseball games in 1958 and later entertainment such as movies in 1962.

When the Whistler Grocery Store was getting ready to open in January 1981, it was unclear whether they could be open on Sundays. By the time they opened later in the month, they had hours seven days a week. Whistler Question Collection, 1981.

In late 1980, the provincial government under premier Bill Bennet and the Social Credit Party passed the Holiday Shopping Regulations Act (HSRA), which banned shopping on Sundays and on holidays with some exceptions but allowed municipalities to hold referendums to approve a local bylaw to allow Sunday shopping.

At first, the Whistler council felt that a referendum would not be necessary due to the exclusions included in the Act, though it was unclear whether resorts were in fact excluded. Many businesses in Whistler had been operating on Sundays for years without issue, often with Sunday as their busiest day of the week, and most continued to do so. Following protests by businesses in Vancouver’s Gastown who wanted to continue opening on Sundays and with the threat of a $10,000 (adjusted for inflation, over $30,000 today), council held a special meeting on January 12, 1981 and gave the first three readings to Bylaw 197, which would allow for the operation of retail businesses on holidays and Sundays. Once approved by the provincial government, a referendum would be held to determine the fate of Sunday shopping in the resort.

Ski shops in particular had busy Sundays, but the legislation brought into question whether they could sell equipment or only rent it out. Whistler Question Collection, 1983

The Whistler Question dedicated multiple editorials to the issue of Sunday shopping and the HSRA. On January 15, they stated “Businesses continue to operate seven days a week as they always have and while we are not an historic site (yet), we are a recreational one and should therefore also be exempted from the asinine regulations.” They also pointed out that some of the exceptions from HSRA were unclear, depending on whether you defined a number of employees as those working at one given time or all who were on the payroll. In one example, the exclusion of businesses offering rentals of sports and recreation equipment and goods did not mention what would happen if the businesses also sold such items, leading the Question to ask, “Does this mean you can rent skis but you can’t buy goggles on a Sunday?”

“Open Daily” signs did not have to come down after Whistler voters decided to support Sunday and holiday shopping. Whistler Question Collection, 1981.

After the referendum was announced for February, the Question encouraged eligible voters to get out and support the proposed bylaw. According to their editorial, “it is obvious to us that the future of Whistler as a ski area, never mind a full-fledged destination resort, hinges on the continual operation fo all stores on Sundays and holidays… Just remember that when you are on vacation, you expect every day to be the same, and this is true for Sundays also.”

It turned out that Sunday shopping was not a very divisive issue in Whistler, though it would take years and hotly debated votes to approve similar bylaws in other municipalities. 404 voters (about 30% of eligible voters) voted in the referendum: 393 for; 7 spoiled (they were all in favour but marked a tick instead of an “x”); 4 against. The result was a 99% majority and by the end of February Bylaw 197 had been officially adopted, making Sunday shopping unequivocally legal in Whistler. In 1985, the Lord’s Day Act was ruled to contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in the late 1980s a court made a similar decision to end BC’s provincial laws that still banned Sunday and holiday opening hours.

Getting Groceries to the VillageGetting Groceries to the Village

January 9, 2024 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

It is rare that any event goes exactly according to plan and, no matter how much you might attempt to expect the unexpected, there is almost always something that comes up. This was certainly the case for the opening of the Whistler Grocery Store, Whistler’s first dedicated supermarket, in January 1981.

The Grocery Store was scheduled to open on Thursday, January 22, 1981. At the time, there were few businesses open in the Whistler Village and, while the buildings around Village Square were recognizable to those familiar with the Village today, many of the other buildings were still under construction or yet to be started. The Blackcomb Lodge, the first major lodging to open in the Village, had opened on December 29, 1980, and its restaurant Russell’s opened in January, though the Brass Rail Lounge in the same building was still unfinished. Smaller businesses in the finished buildings had begun operating late in 1980 and Tapley’s Pub was slated to open in January, followed by Stoney’s Restaurant the following month.

Stoney’s Restaurant with a clear view to the mountains, where today there are buildings. Whistler Question Collection

Delays to the various openings in the Village began in December, when it began to rain on December 24 and kept raining. By December 26, flooding was occurring around the Lower Mainland and other areas of British Columbia and Highway 99 had been washed out around Culliton Creek and north of the Rutherford Creek junction, cutting Whistler off from the rest of the Sea to Sky. The road reopened by the beginning of 1981, but closed again on January 21 when the detour around the Culliton Creek washout was washed out.

The rain also caused problems on the mountains, particularly on Blackcomb Mountain, which had only begun operating on December 4. Higher elevations had good skiing and both mountains worked hard to make snow when possible and move snow around in order to get skiers to the lifts, but there was very limited terrain and there were long lines to download each afternoon (Blackcomb reportedly even began handing out lemonade to those waiting to download Lift 2). Whistler Mountain was able to continue operating in a limited capacity, but Blackcomb temporarily shut down operations and laid off staff.

One of two destroyed power lines when flood waters washed out footings south of the Tisdale Hydro Station. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

Both the Blackcomb Lodge and Tapley’s Pub delayed their openings for a few days to a week because of the weather and road closures. The Grocery Store’s manager Ted Pryce-Jones, however, decided to open as scheduled on Thursday, January 22, though not exactly as planned.

According to the Whistler Question, Pryce-Jones decided to open “when it became apparent that the Whistler and Pemberton residents were in danger of running out of certain foodstuffs.” Even though the Grocery Store had no fresh meat or produce, residents “flooded” the store to buy milk, bread, cereal, and other foods. In order to meet the demand for milk, Pryce-Jones organized daily Dairyland deliveries by rail, which was also being used to supply restaurants and other goods. Deliveries were limited by the availability of freight space and by the time the highway reopened on Monday, January 26, the Grocery Store and other stores that carried food had run out of fresh produce and milk.

Ted Pryce-Jones, manager, poses near the pop in the new grocery store soon to open in the Village. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

Because of the lack of supply, Pryce-Jones decided to delay the Grocery Store’s Grand Opening Sale until they could restock, but the store did offer various “In Store Specials.” By the end of the month, regular deliveries had resumed and the Grocery Store did very good business, especially in fresh produce, where Pryce-Jones reported “people buying the vegetables and fruit almost as fast as it could be put out.” The store was open seven days a week and, perhaps, unsurprisingly, was busiest between 4:30 and 6:30 pm, when skiers had come down from the mountains (it did begin snowing by the end of the month).

The Grocery Store was able to offer its Grand Opening Sale from February 5 – 8, just a little later than expected and continued to be busy as the only full-service grocery store in Whistler. Despite a somewhat shaky start, the Grocery Store continues to operate today out of the same space in the Hearthstone building over forty years later.

A Rainy End to the HolidaysA Rainy End to the Holidays

January 19, 2021 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Discussions of weather in Whistler have been going on for decades, as is apparent from past editions of the Whistler Question. In the early months of winter the conversations usually focus on snow. Reports from January 1981, however, show that rain, rather than snow, was the topic of discussion in town that year.

While there had been snow in early December 1980, it began to rain in earnest in Whistler and the surrounding areas on December 24. The rain had not stopped by noon on December 26 and flooding was occurring in places from Squamish to D’Arcy, as well as in the Fraser Valley and other areas of British Columbia.

One of two destroyed power lines when flood waters washed out footings south of the Tisdale Hydro Station. Whistler Question Collection, 1980.

Whistler and Pemberton were cut off from the rest of the Sea to Sky by both road and rail, as Highway 99 was washed out around Culliton Creek (today the site of the Culliton Creek Bridge, also known as the Big Orange Bridge) and north of the Rutherford Creek junction. A rail bridge over Rutherford Creek was left handing by the rails when its supports were washed away and other sections of rail were obstructed by small slides and washouts.

BCR Rutherford Creek crossing hangs by its rails after the December 26 flood washed away all supports and girders. Whistler Question Collection, 1980.

19 Mile Creek overflowed at the entrance to Alpine Meadows, cutting it off from the rest of town. The bridge on Valley Drive was also washed out, taking with it part of the main water supply. In other parts of Whistler sewer lines, water systems, bridges, road and parking lots were damaged, though employees of Whistler Mountain worked quickly to divert water at its gondola base as Whistler Creek rose. Helicopters were used to ferry residents and visitors in and out of the valley, including Mayor Pat Carleton who was in Vancouver at the time of the flood.

A creative approach to entering Alpine Meadows. George Benjamin Collection.

At the Garibaldi townsite south of Whistler, rising waters caused one house to be swept into the Cheakamus River and another to tip precariously while others were left unaccessible.

The flooding was partly caused by the unseasonable rise in temperature and freezing levels, meaning most of the early snow melted and added to the rain, as well as washing gravel, logs and debris down to the valley.

By the beginning of 1981, the roads to Whistler and Pemberton had reopened and repairs were underway. Unfortunately, the temperatures were still warm and the rain was not over. On January 21 the detour built around the previous wash out at Culliton Creek was washed out, again cutting off access on Highway 99. At first it was believed that the closure would be quite brief, but Highway 99 remained closed until January 26.

Two of many skiers that made use of BCR (BC Rail) passenger service last week. Whistler Question Collection, 1981.

Luckily, at the time there was still passenger rail service to Whistler. The two-car passenger train from Prince George to North Vancouver was already full by the time it reached Whistler that day, but skiers trying to get back to the Lower Mainland were able to fill the baggage car and stand in the aisles. While helicopters and float planes were also used, trains became the most popular means of transport for five days, introducing many travellers to an option they had not considered before.

Rail was also used to transport goods, including delivering the Whistler Question on January 21 and supplying restaurants and food stores. Due to the limited freight space available, Whistler was limited to ten cases of milk per day and, by the time the road reopened, the stores were out of milk and fresh produce while the gas tanks at the gas station were running low. The Whistler Grocery Store, which was set to open on January 22, considered delaying but ultimately decided to proceed with its opening as planned when it became apparent that many families in the cut off communities were in danger of running out of certain food stuffs.

On January 26, as the road reopened, snow finally reached the valley again in Whistler. By January 31 sunshine and new snow had brought crowds of skiers back to Whistler Mountain. Further Questions continued to report on the weather and snow, but it would appear that after a dramatic start to the winter the 1981 season ended without further mishap.