Local bar and restaurant owners are weighing their options after the province announced Tuesday that Ontario will have an extended last call that will stretch until 4 a.m. during the FIFA World Cup.
The extended hours will be in place from June 11 to July 19.
Speaking on AM800’s Mornings with Mike and Meg, Jeff Kingswood, manager at Lionshead Tavern in east Windsor said most late matches already wrap around normal closing time.
“That would bring us right to our standard closing time right now, so if there is huge demand and you know that kind of a crowd on hand where we would need to stay open later, it’s great to have the option, but I don’t really think for the most part that we would be taking advantage of those hours,” Kingswood said.
He said they’ll let demand dictate their hours.
“We’ll definitely just I guess be playing it by ear or seeing what the demand is and seeing what the the turnout is for for the matches and then we can go from there,” he said.
Kingswood expects the World Cup to bring a boost with plenty planned.
“We’ve had a lot of great collaboration from the local reps, so there’s going to be lots of prizes and giveaways and specials going on during this time,” he said.
“We’re really looking forward to the draw that it brings in for us.”
Last call in Ontario is usually 2 a.m., but the province has extended drinking hours before for major sporting events, such as the recent gold medal hockey game between Canada and the U.S.
Provincial officials said the move will also boost the experience for tourists visiting the city.
-With files from CTV News