Owners of Fets Whisky Kitchen will get their booze back after settlement with B.C. government

The owners of a Vancouver specialty whisky bar are getting back about $40,000 in liquor that was seized in a government raid nearly five years ago, but only after they close their business and give up their licence.

Eric and Allura Fergie of Fets Whisky Kitchen have settled their legal dispute with the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch after agreeing that the whisky seized in the January 2018 raid was not lawfully purchased, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

The Fergies plan to close the Commercial Drive institution later this month, and once their liquor licence expires or is transferred, the whisky will be returned to them on the understanding that it cannot be sold or served under any licence.

The Fergies told CBC they consider the settlement a win.

"I feel great, because we can move on now to the next chapter," Allura Fergie said.

Her husband described the news as a weight lifted off his shoulders.

"It's been a very stressful five years not knowing what the outcome would be. We've always been positive that the government was in the wrong and we would get the whisky back," Eric Fergie said.

The settlement brings an end to the Fergies's court petition alleging their rights were violated during the raid, which they argue was conducted without a warrant.

Fets was one of four B.C. bars raided in a single day, in what some in the industry described as a "prohibition-style" operation. Inspectors confiscated 242 bottles of liquor from Fets and later fined the Fergies $3,000.

In B.C., restaurants and bars must buy alcohol through the Liquor Distribution Branch or designated outlets, but hundreds of bottles at Fets came from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society collection instead.

Following the raid, the Fergies asked the branch to reconsider the decision but it was upheld.

In their court submissions, the couple claimed the hearing was "pre-judged" and a "mere sham" because they did not have the opportunity to submit evidence on the issue.

Fets is now set to close on Dec. 23. In the meantime, Eric Fergie says the bar is staying busy as longtime customers and friends drop by for their "last suppers, so to speak."

Allura Fergie said once the doors close, the couple plans to "stop, re-evaluate, take a little bit of time" before deciding what's next, but more advocacy is likely in their future.

"We're going to stay involved in the industry. We're going to continue on with this fight to get legislation to change," Eric Fergie said.

"We just feel that it doesn't matter where you buy the product from, as long as you buy it within British Columbia."

As for all that whisky they're getting back but won't be able to sell, it's going into the Fergies's private collection.

"We're hoping it comes with a couple of new livers," Eric Fergie joked.