Chicken Colossus St-Hubert Seeks BYOB Status From Quebec Government

Quebec's largest restaurant chain has clout but St-Hubert's ability to lobby the government now faces a stiff test. The privately held company, with over 100 restaurants, wants the Régie des alcools to grant it an open alcohol licence. This would effectively confer BYOB status on all St-Hubert restaurants. Think of the middle class, St-Hubert honcho Jean-Pierre Léger told CTV: "When you go to a restaurant, to buy a bottle of wine, [it] is not cheap. It costs a lot of money."

Not everyone is on board. A spokesperson for the province's restaurant association thinks the proposal is bad for business: "You don't want customers to bring their own bottle. You lose the profit margin you can have on alcohol, and for the majority of restaurants that sell alcohol, it's where they make profit. Not on food anymore, it's on alcohol."

St-Hubert expects the government's final decision in a month's time.