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Sep 2, 2009 11:00 pm US/Central
No Drinking And Standing At Outdoor Mpls. Bars
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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A 20-year-old Minneapolis city ordinance prohibits patrons on outdoor patios or sidewalk cafes from drinking alcohol if they are not seated at a table.
CBS
With summer winding down, many warm-weather lovers are enjoying time at bars and restaurants with outdoor spaces, but in some parts of Minneapolis, inspectors are cracking down on drinking and standing.
A 20-year-old ordinance prohibits patrons on outdoor patios or sidewalk cafes from drinking alcohol if they are not seated at a table.
Lush restaurant, with its outdoor patio, in northeast Minneapolis opened just a month ago.
"We have some seating over here that we actually dinner and drinks to and a lot of people like to wander out and have a cigarette and kind of stand," said Lush owner Ty Hoffman.
Unless you're downtown, the city doesn't allow standing while drinking on outdoor patios.
"Last Friday, an inspector came out and we ended up with two citations for the patio. I guess I thought it was kind of ridiculous," Hoffman said.
Cowboy Slims, in Uptown, also got a warning for customers standing and drinking on the deck.
"They came here to do a routine inspection and saw people standing on the patio and informed the business owner that's not allowed, you have to be seated," said Minneapolis City Council member Gary Schiff.
That has a lot of patio and rooftop restaurant owners asking why.
"Good question. I think there's a lot of outdated parts of our liquor code," Schiff said.
The code said outdoor areas created to enlarge the capacity to serve stand-up patrons tend to upset neighbors and make it harder to park nearby.
"The occupancy of the building is already around 200 and I think the parking has already been put aside for that," Hoffman explained.
Kick-off at the new Gopher stadium means surrounding pubs will expand bar and food service to the parking lots.
"People like to stand and drink and people are going to want that. What bar owner is going to force a patron to sit at a table just to comply with an ordinance?" said Campus Pizza owner Jim Rosvold.
"You have to be seated in order to be served outdoors in Minneapolis and I don't think it makes sense anymore," Schiff said.
If a bar violates the rule after the first warning, a $200 citation is issued. That amount doubles after each additional violation.
A proposal to repeal the no drinking and standing rule is before the city council and a public hearing is set for Sept. 23.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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