Surdyk's Saga Continues: City Council Rejects Deal

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — There is no end in sight for the standoff between Surdyk’s Liquor and Cheese Shop and Minneapolis, thanks to actions taken by city lawmakers Tuesday. Earlier this month, city officials and Surdyk’s reached a settlement on sanctions for the store selling liquor on Sunday, March 12.

That proposed settlement would impose a $6,000 fine (up from the $2,000 fine initially proposed) and a 10-day suspension on the store (a decrease from the 30-day license suspension).

The backstory: Surdyk’s Settlement Reached, Minimizing Impact On Employees

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis City Council rejected the proposed settlement. A council committee said the punishment was not stiff enough, the Star Tribune reported:

“We went down and asked him not to open, the state called him and asked him not to be open, and he basically said, ‘Too bad, I’m not going to do it,’” Council Member Lisa Goodman said. “If he had shut down right after they came in and asked him to do so, I might have felt different.”

A new deal must be negotiated over the next month, the council committee said, and there may be a public hearing. Goodman said she has heard from “a lot of members of the public” about the matter, and they are not happy that Surdyk might have gotten off with a $6,000 fine and 10-day suspension.

Read much more at the Star Tribune.

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