Actually, it’s for a license to dispense liquor, but it’s a good attention-grabbing headline.
I will be testifying today before a committee in the Minnesota Senate seeking a small piece of legislation to enable the new food vendor in the City Center’s Garden Room, Taher Business Dining, to dispense liquor in the Garden Room.
The previous vendor had a liquor license for the Garden Room as part of their state caterer’s license. The current vendor does not, and cannot because of the way their company is organized. The City cannot issue the current vendor a standing on-sale liquor license for the Garden Room location because the site is within 300 feet of a school facility – the Education Center, which is actually about 30 feet down the hallway.
The liquor license for the Garden Room is not that big of a deal to the City, except that the Garden Room is used extensively on the weekends for wedding receptions and other types of social gatherings where the consumption of liquor is expected. Since the City gains a financial benefit, a percentage share of the room rental from such events, we have an interest in making sure that they can dispense liquor, when that is appropriate.
The State of Minnesota has quirky liquor laws. We have municipally-owned liquor stores in this state, for goodness sake. For the City to be able to have liquor sold in the Garden Room of City Center, we must get a change in state law. That’s what I’ll be testifying in favor of this afternoon.
The City has received excellent constituent service from its state legislators on this issue. Senator David Hann, Represenative Maria Ruud, and Representative Erik Paulsen have all played a part in moving this bill from local request to something in writing to now a bill working its way through the Senate and House committee structure.
