A business association in Montreal's gay neighborhood found a way to pay for summer street fairs, complete with outdoor dining and drinking. The catch? Some of the festivalgoers must drink -- or at least pay for -- Bud Light beer. From the Toronto Globe and Mail:
The business association sold the right to sell beer on 54 new patios along a stretch of Ste-Catherine Street to Labatt, part of a summer-long festival that will see cars banished from the street. Owners say the $100,000 deal came with minimum sales quotas for each bar and restaurant, including a healthy sample of Bud Light.
The deal irks restaurateurs like Ms. Dagenais, who doesn't sell much beer at her small restaurant, best known for tasty desserts, and others who try to tempt palates with fine dining, wine and specialty ales.
Private sponsorship of public spaces is all the rage, but it might still be far-fetched to imagine Puritan Boston financing the upkeep of the Greenway or the Common by mandating the consumption of Budweiser or Sam Adams. The Cape Cod Chips Esplanade and the Ben and Jerry's Public Garden are a bit more plausible.
