According to Jeremy Shepherd in the Vancouver Courier, a few residents are losing sleep over the recent extension of Karv‘s operating hours.
The Kitsilano restaurant and bar is located on West First Avenue and Yew Street and recently received approval from the city to stay open until 1:00am on weekdays and 2:00am on Friday and Saturday. It previously closed two hours earlier. The city recommended approval of the later hours on March 23rd following a meeting with Karv’s management.
To date at least five residents have complained about noise, garbage, fights and the reaction they say they received from the bar’s management.
Marty Levine across from Karv - photo: Dan Toulgoet
Marty Levine said he moved into a building across the street from Karv 18 months ago and as soon as the weather warmed the street was filled with loud, drunken people. “We find garbage strewn on our property… people trying to get into our courtyard to smoke pot and cigarettes,” he said.
Levine, who found Karv to be an “innocuous bar” when he had a drink there before moving in, said it’s the only neighbourhood bar creating a nightly disturbance.
Johnny Carroll, the manager of Karv, said the noise is reasonable and later hours are critical to any bar’s business. “These hours are the difference between closing your doors and turning a profit,” he said. “I’m not trying to keep anybody up, I’m trying to run a business.”
He said the noise was a natural by-product of an area zoned commercial and residential. “The streets become very busy in the summer. It’s probably one of the reasons you moved in,” he said.
Carroll said his patrons weren’t necessarily the ones making noise or fighting. “There’s nothing north of Cornwall Street,” he said, pointing out drinkers from other area bars walk past Karv after closing time in search of food. Karv is located next to a 24 hour convenience store Carroll called the “last depot to get your snacks.”
Neighbourhood bars Abigail’s Party and The King’s Head share the block with Karv. Levine said he can tell the difference between Karv’s patrons and people just passing through the area. Karv has a sign on its patio reminding patrons to respect neighbours by keeping quiet when they leave. While Levine blamed the owners of the bar for not having enough staff to quiet loud patrons, he put most of the responsibility elsewhere. “If I’m angry at anyone it’s the city… the residents are not getting deference,” he said.
Had the City done a little research here on Kitsilano.ca, they would have seen that Karv is a repeat offender and this unruly summer behavior by patrons dates back to 2006.
