The Trough New resolution could place Minneapolis bars closer to churches, finally

There are a lot of laws in Minnesota that don’t make much sense to the average out-of-stater who just wants to grab a beer. Take Sundays, for example: Liquor stores are closed. And the humble grocery stores: They’re unable to sell liquor, wine, and beer. There are other restrictions, too, such as the law that prohibits the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of a church. These laws may exist for a plethora of outdated or perhaps politically controversial reasons, but there’s possibly a light at the end of the tunnel. Over the summer, Minnesota law was changed to include the Surly Bill, a measure that made it legal for a brewery to serve alcohol. And now more restaurant owners and one city council member are coming forward with measures that make it easier for the patrons to have the drink of their choice, even if the location of that beverage consumption happens to be within stumbling distance of God’s towering steeple. 

The current ordinance, in place now for decades, states that establishments within 300 feet of a place of worship or school cannot serve alcohol, unless the business makes less than 30 percent of its money from alcohol sales. The current amendment, proposed by council member Gary Schiff, is to axe the part about the churches, and free up restaurants to serve what they please. “Businesses shouldn’t have unfair rules placed upon them because a religious place of assembly is located nearby,” said Schiff, who spoke to the Star Tribune. 

Do these liquor-loosening laws signal the beginning of the end of such stringent zoning? Not without at least something of an ecclesiastical fight: One parish member in Northeast Minneapolis doesn’t “want to walk out of a church on a Sunday afternoon and look across the street and see people coming out of bars,” because surely Jesus wouldn’t approve. Pay no attention to the Jesus juice in that communion chalice, though. It’s okay to drink inside a church, as long as your alcoholic beverage is Christ’s blood.