Eric and Allura Fergie will host a series of whiskey pairing dinners, with their first since early 2020 set for Sunday, September 11. The two have worked in the service industry since they were teenagers and say the pandemic has helped them realize it’s time to slow down. “My partner is also my wife and we’re both going to be unemployed,” Eric Fergie laughed in an interview with CBC. “We don’t want to end up being that bitter old couple still running a restaurant.” He and Allura will still be tasting whiskey and working with a few whiskey organizations to promote quality spirits and teach people how to make them. Fergie says she’s open to handing over the reins if someone is interested in buying the business, but so far, the plan is to close the doors and say goodbye to their staff on December 23. Allura Fergie says she has mixed feelings. “[I’m] excited for what the future holds, but sad that we won’t be on Drive anymore,” she said in an interview. The two plan to travel across North America in a newly purchased RV and spend more quality time with their three sons, two young grandchildren and several nieces and nephews when not on the road. “I have a big family,” he said. “I love children and I want to see them grow up and see them achieve their own dreams.” Fets Whiskey Kitchen began as Fettucini’s Café in 1986. It quickly grew into a popular restaurant on the Drive after moving across the street and stocked Canada’s largest selection of specialty whiskeys. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Long story

Fets Whiskey Bar started in 1986 as a pasta bar called Fettucine’s Café. In 1996, it moved from a cramped, hole-in-the-wall style restaurant to a larger location across the street at 1230 Commercial Drive. “Our regulars just shortened it and called it Fets,” said Eric Fergie, explaining how the name then became Fets Pasta Bar. The new space led to a growing whiskey collection and the realization that people were coming for more than food. In 2012 it was renamed Fets Whiskey Kitchen, boasting the largest collection in Canada. Fergie says the people he and his wife have met are what they will love the most. “We’ve made some incredible lifetime connections,” she said. “We have friends we’ve known since the restaurant first opened — a lot of them.” Fets Whiskey Kitchen attracted crowds with its popular food menu and vast whiskey collection. Owners Eric and Allura Fergie say they’ll still be in the Commercial Drive neighborhood, just across the street from the counter. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The couple may be putting the restaurant behind them, but they are moving forward with a legal battle with the British Columbia Liquor and Cannabis Regulatory Branch (LCRB). In 2018, Fets and three other BC bars were raided by liquor inspectors. Hundreds of bottles of specialty whiskey that were legally imported but purchased from private retailers were seized and the pair took the province to court after the LCRB upheld its original decision. “We know we were wronged by the agency, by the inspectors. And we will fight to the end to prove it,” Eric said. Eric says BC Supreme Court Justice Nathan H. Smith ruled last December that he “denied them due process” and ordered the province to share all documents related to the case with the couple. Nearly 300 pages of files released two years ago are no longer redacted, but Eric says they refer to “emails and conversations” he and his wife have been unable to review. “Our lawyer feels he has what it takes to move this forward. But Allura and I feel we have a right to see everything [of it],” he said. Fets Whiskey Kitchen will close its doors on Dec. 23, but owners Eric and Allura Fergie say they plan to see a legal battle with the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to the end. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Eric says the 242 bottles of whiskey he took off his shelves were taxed and bought in B.C. and believes they should be returned. Ultimately, he hopes the litigation will make life easier for other bar and restaurant owners. “Our goal is to leave this industry in better shape than we came into it.” In an emailed statement, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security – which oversees the liquor industry – said it would not comment as the matter is still before the courts.