Business & Tech

Minneapolis Wine-Bar Rules: Too Much Regulation?

The Star Tribune's MPLS. blog examined the 'wine inspector' issue raised at last week's mayoral debate. Do current on 'charter wine license' rules put an undue burden on wine bars in Southwest Minneapolis?

Star Tribune reporter Eric Roper fact-checked a statement about wine bars from last week's mayoral debate at the newspaper's MPLS. blog:

“Did you know you can get a job in the city of Minneapolis as a wine inspector?" said [Gary] Schiff, a City Council member. "Your job is to go to a wine bar, and if a plate of bread doesn’t hit the table before that glass of wine, the business gets a $200 citation.” ...

First, the city does not have a position called "wine inspector." ... Second, the only businesses where customers must order food in order to drink alcohol are wine bars located far from commercial nodes, usually deep in residential neighborhoods. These so-called "charter" wine licenses (because they are specifically allowed by the charter) are rare.

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Read the full blog post at startribune.com. 

Southwest Minneapolis has its fair share of wine bars; online city records indicate that local examples of establishments requiring charter wine licenses include:

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Do you agree with Schiff that current city regulations on wine bars are burdensome? Leave a comment below.


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