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Beer or wine with your Pacific Buffet? B.C. Ferries plans booze test in summer

Passengers might be able to purchase a glass of beer or wine on B.C. Ferries as early as this summer. A company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that B.C. Ferries is developing a pilot project to add beer and wine to its Pacific Buffet menu.
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B.C. Ferries vessel Spirit of Vancouver Island.

Passengers might be able to purchase a glass of beer or wine on B.C. Ferries as early as this summer.

A company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that B.C. Ferries is developing a pilot project to add beer and wine to its Pacific Buffet menu.

No other details were released, but an internal staff memo, obtained by The Orca website, indicates that the project will launch in June on the Spirit of British Columbia, Spirit of Vancouver Island and Coastal Celebration vessels sailing between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.

Customers 19 years of age and older would have the option of buying two drinks with a meal in the Pacific Buffet, the memo says.

The MV Coho car ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles, Washington, has sold beer and wine in its cafeteria for a few years. Customers must be 21 years old — legal age in Washington — and may buy only for themselves. They need not order food with their beer or wine. Sales cease half an hour before the ferry docks.

Washington State Ferries has long sold beer and wine onboard. In 2017, it announced an expanded array of Washington beers and wines as part of its contract with Centerplate, the caterer that also handles the sale of food at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. The state ferry system operates the car ferry between Sidney and Anacortes, Washington.