‘Always fun’: Boston Pizza in east Regina opens early to show Olympics

With many Canadians swept up in Olympic fervour, the Boston Pizza location in east Regina will be opening its doors early for viewers who want to catch all the action.

Last week, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority announced that it will consider requests from existing alcohol permit holders to allow the sale of booze as early as 5 a.m. in order to accommodate viewing of Olympic events.

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The opportunity was too good for general manager Tyler Birkland to pass up.

“I mean, it’s Canada in the Olympics, and this is the first time we’ve gotten to see best-on-best (hockey) in the Olympics for quite some time,” Birkland said, referring to the inclusion of NHL players in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

Birkland said his Boston Pizza location on Star Lite Street will open at 9 a.m. to let people watch the games. Canada’s men’s hockey team is scheduled to play its first game on Thursday at 9:40 a.m.

“The time frame doesn’t exactly help us, the way the games are slotted in Italy, but still, we want to be able to showcase the games when they start at 9:30 a.m. That’s what we have to do,” he said.

“We’re going to open the doors at nine o’clock so people can come in, get settled, and we can show the game and have some fun.”

Birkland said he doesn’t know how many people will show up, but he’s been working on getting the word out.

The general manager said he wants people to have a memorable experience while rooting for Canada.

“I go back to the Sydney Crosby goal – you remember where you were when that happened,” he said.

“We got a little preview of it with the 4 Nations tournament, with Canada vs. the U.S. when they were dropping the gloves in the first period. I remember who I was watching that game with right when it happened.”

He said he’s hoping Canada can make a good run, especially if it means a rematch against the United States.

Birkland said it will be nice to get some extra business, but his enthusiasm goes far beyond that.

“I get more excited providing that atmosphere for people that want to be there for that moment, and I think just having the game’s (volume) cranked, everyone high-fiving, everyone wearing Canada gear, it’s always a fun environment to be in,” he said.

He said everyone cheering for the same team makes for a unique atmosphere during the Olympics.

“Every other sporting event where we’re from, you always have two sides of teams cheering for each other, right? Even with Seattle versus New England, you get a split in the lounge, whereas there aren’t too many Americans that are sitting in our lounge for this, or people in the other team’s jersey,” he said.