Getting the party started early

Underdogs usually opens at noon on Sundays, but this weekend they’ll be welcoming customers starting at 6:30 a.m.

The sports bar in Winnipeg’s St. James neighbourhood is one of the many establishments across the city opening early so that people can gather to cheer on Canada’s men’s hockey team in the gold medal game at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.

The team will face off against the United States starting at 7 a.m.

The provincial government announced late Friday afternoon that it’s allowing bars and restaurants to open early Sunday morning for the event.

“We’ve got to be a part of the party,” Frank Fiorillo, a part-owner of Underdogs, said on Saturday. “We’re one of the bigger sports bars in the city, so we can’t pass up the opportunity to open up for the gold medal game.”

Underdogs said in a social media post yesterday it would be open for the game. The bar, which seats around 200 people, was completely booked about four hours later.

Over at the Grove, staff will open the doors at 6:45 a.m. — a little more than three hours earlier than usual.

Tyler McVarish, who manages the Grove, expects to hit capacity at the 100-seat pub and restaurant, located in River Heights.

“The phone’s been ringing pretty much off the hook since (Team Canada) won yesterday,” he said late Saturday morning.

The Grove has been showing the Olympics “almost exclusively” for the last two weeks, McVarish said, adding that he’s looking forward to a fun Sunday morning.

“We’re a pretty neighbourhood-driven pub — a lot of the faces we get through the door we see all the time. It’s important for us to be here for people who want to come watch. It’s just a special atmosphere.”

According to Manitoba’s Liquor Regulation, the executive director for Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba may authorize extended hours of liquor service for events of community, provincial or national significance, the provincial government said in a news release.

Licensed establishments opening early must serve liquor no earlier than one hour before the televised event starts; ensure the premises were closed and vacated for at least one hour the previous night; and open specifically for the purpose of televising the Olympic event.

“When Team Canada plays for gold, the whole country leans in,” Premier Wab Kinew said in the release.

“That’s why we’re allowing bars and restaurants to open early, so friends, families and neighbours can gather, share that energy and celebrate what unites us.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca