Mount Pleasant's nightlife scene just got a significant upgrade. Uncle Abe's, the neighborhood favorite run by longtime entrepreneur David Duprey, has become one of the first bars outside downtown Vancouver to receive approval for 3 a.m. weekend closing times under the city's new extended hours legislation.
The change marks a significant shift for a city that once earned the nickname "No Fun City." Last July, city council approved extended late-night hours for bars, pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants, allowing downtown liquor-primary venues to apply for 4 a.m. closures while spots outside downtown can stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends.
Duprey, who runs several Mount Pleasant establishments under the Narrow Group umbrella including the Narrow and Slim's BBQ Joint, worked with the Mount Pleasant BIA to make extended hours a reality for the neighborhood.
"Anything that makes liquor rules and laws better, I'm for," Duprey explains. "Even though it isn't going to help 90 percent of businesses, the fact that it's a change is a positive."
The path to 3 a.m. service required persistence. Duprey first applied for—and was rejected for—a liquor-primary license before working with Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung to bring a motion allowing Main Street restaurants to apply for the licensing change.
"What I'm hoping is that I'll become the late-night spot for when the other bars around us close, because a lot of them aren't bars—they're restaurants," Duprey shares. "So I hope that their staff and their patrons come here when they close."
Uncle Abe's has weathered the challenging post-pandemic hospitality landscape better than many. While some of Duprey's other establishments have seen sales drop around 20 percent, Uncle Abe's has flatlined rather than declined—a success he attributes to community focus and connection with regulars.
"We've focused on community, and we're dialled in with our regulars and customers," he says. "I think we're giving them something positive."
The extended hours represent hope for Mount Pleasant's evolving nightlife, positioning the neighborhood as a destination for those seeking late-night options without trekking downtown.