Vancouver orders removal of ‘iconic’ rat mural at Commercial Drive brewery

It’s been a feature of Commercial Drive for almost a decade, but according to the City of Vancouver, it’s time to say goodbye to the mural on the side of East Vancouver’s Storm Brewing.

The beloved, much-photographed “iconic” scene of colourful rats and steam-fired kettles has been deemed a municipal bylaw violation and must be removed, the brewery tweeted Wednesday.

“It’s been there for a long time and you would think by now people are not going to have an objection to it,” said Storm Brewing owner James Walton, who started the business in 1994.

“I know it’s got rats and beer on it, but seriously, it’s a cute mural. People get their picture in front of it all the time, tourists from all over Europe. I had a guy call me from England this morning.”

Walton said the tweet and matching Instagram post were mostly meant to encourage folks to come out for one last photo, and he’s “a bit” surprised by the backlash it has generated toward the city, whose priorities are now being scrutinized.

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Vancouver councillors Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung and Peter Meiszner all tweeted Wednesday they’re “looking into” it.

“We don’t want to see them lose this valuable piece of art that makes that brewery so interesting and exciting,” Meiszner told Global News on Thursday.

“I don’t think (the removal order is) reasonable, I think it’s ridiculous. We’re going to take steps to make sure that they don’t have to and we’ll make the changes necessary to the sign bylaw.”

Kirby-Yung agreed, telling CKNW’s The Jill Bennett Show that “We need more of this, not less in the city.”

“Taking it down and asking them to paint it over to me is not the answer and it’s not an option. I want to see us save this mural.”

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According to Mike Crozier, general manager of Storm Brewing, the brewery was notified of the violation by email. He assumed he would need to pay a fine and fill out some paperwork, but was “disappointed” to learn instead that city staff wanted the mural gone.

“I did inquire if this all started from a complaint and I was told legally, they couldn’t tell me what happened. They quoted some law,” he said in an interview.

Because the mural depicts Storm Brewing’s product and its branding — the rats — it’s considered “promoting and advertising,” Crozier explained. That’s reportedly not allowed in a mural.

Vancouver has a mural program, but its application forms state that “elements of advertising, promotion, signage, branding or product placement for a business” are not permitted.

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Unless there’s a reversal in the decision, Crozier has said the mural is likely to be painted over.

Meanwhile, Meiszner said council meets next week and will try to offer some “reprieve” to Storm Brewing, so it doesn’t need to take down the mural while the necessary amendments are made.

“(Signage) does need to be regulated, but in this case, this is a mural and in my opinion, this is street art and that’s something we’re trying to encourage in Vancouver,” he said.

“We don’t want to be putting in red tape and policies that don’t make sense for 2023 for small businesses. It’s already hard enough and we need to make it easier.”

Storm Brewing is the longest-running craft brewery in Vancouver.