Does a patio or entertainment licence transfer separately from a liquor licence?

Whether a patio or an entertainment licence moves with a liquor licence depends on who issued each approval, not on what the business calls it. In Ontario the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) licenses the sale and service of liquor, while a city can separately approve a patio or the use of its land. Check each approval with its own issuer before closing.

A permanent patio can sit inside the liquor licence

The AGCO says that to sell or serve liquor in an area that is not currently licensed, the licence must be revised to include it, and it lists adding a new permanent licensed area, indoor or outdoor, among the changes to apply for. Markham, Ontario, says most operators choose to include a patio on private property in the restaurant’s full liquor licence. Markham adds that revisions to a liquor licence, including expanding a permanent patio on private property, are under the AGCO’s authority. The AGCO’s guide to transferring a liquor sales licence does not mention patios, so ask the AGCO whether a transfer application carries a licensed patio across.

Temporary patios and city land have their own approvals

The AGCO tells operators who want a temporary outdoor patio to contact their local municipality. Hamilton approves temporary patios through its own program, and a liquor-licensed business uses that approval to extend its indoor licence outward and must notify the AGCO. Markham requires a Permission to Enter agreement for patios on city-owned land, setting conditions such as insurance, duration, specified location and fees, and says the temporary seasonal liquor licences it handles for municipal-property patios expire each year. Ask the city whether a buyer can take such an approval over or must apply afresh.

Other provinces and other licences

Other provinces run their own systems. Saskatoon describes its sidewalk café and parking patio licence as non-transferable and valid only for the location on the licence. Richmond, British Columbia, says city staff assess during the patio permit application whether a patio needs a new liquor licence or an amendment to an existing one, and that serving liquor on a seasonal or temporary patio may require a new outdoor patio application to the province’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. This page does not cover entertainment licences, so ask the issuer of one in writing whether it transfers, ends on a sale or needs a fresh application.