LIQUOR IN THE PARK
(And Other Vices)

Despite the fact that St. Louis Park was founded by straight-laced New Englanders, liquor and other vices have played a part in the history of the City.  Also see Early Ordinances.

The first saloon in Minnesota was established in the 1830s by Pig’s Eye Parrant in a cave in St. Paul. The first temperance society sprung up in 1848.  Minnesota had an early prohibition law in 1852, but the abolitionist movement moved to center stage and the law was repealed.  Liquor taxes were essential to pay for the cost of the Civil War.  

The National Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed in 1874 in Cleveland. 

For a city that at one time was known for its strip of bars, it’s ironic that the settlers of St. Louis Park were of a different bent. An 1883 biographical sketch paints pioneer Daniel J. Falvey as an "outspoken advocate of temperance who had done all he can to sustain the village against any intrusion of the liquor traffic."

On February 5, 1892, the Village Council passed Ordinance No. 15 requiring a license in order to “sell, barter, give away or otherwise dispose of spirituous, vinous, fermented, malt, or intoxicating liquor.” The ordinance did not apply to druggists or licensed pharmacists.

The Anti-Saloon League was established in 1893.  Its prime legal advisor and lobbyist Wayne Wheeler would become the prime architect of Prohibition. 

By the 1890s, the question of whether to issue a liquor license was up to a vote almost every year. In 1894, 330 votes were cast, with 186 voting against issuing a liquor license and 130 voting for. The previous year, the dry vote was much higher. It was rumored that T.B. Walker threatened to close all his factories of the village went wet. This made the factory men mad - they did not appreciate having a threat over their heads. The St. Louis Park Mail speculated that, had the story gotten out sooner, the wets would have won, although there was no evidence that Walker ever made the statement. The WCTU ladies of the Park showed their appreciation for the vote by holding a ratification meeting at "school house hall," promising speeches, music, and a free supper. In 1901 the ladies apparently held property in the Park.

D.W. Bath, the publisher of the Mail, despite his name was a "dry," and apparently took shots at those who loved their liquor. One story went that "Milkman Holter packed his skin full of Minneapolis bug juice," went home, and drove his wife and children out into the snow with a butcher knife. "Constable Kelfield went out and brought the festive milkman in and give him elegant quarters for the night in the hotel-de-jug."

A poolhall ordinance was passed on June 26, 1898. A license was $5/year, and poolhalls had to close at midnight and all day on Sunday.

In 1899, lunatic Carry Nation carried out her first hatchet job in a Medicine Lodge, Kansas, drug store that was illegally selling liquor.  After several raids in Kansas, she branched out to other cities, including New York.  She became a media sensation - songs were written about her and her name is known to this day.  She died in a mental institution at age 65. 

St. Louis Park went wet after a vote on March 11, 1902 with 135 for “license” and 73 against. A new liquor ordinance was passed on April 4, 1902, regulating spirituous, malt fermented, vinous, or mixed intoxicating liquors. On May 1, Conrad Birkhofer of Minneapolis received the first license to sell intoxicating liquor. Several other men applied for licenses as well, although the fee was $1,000. The town drunk was so boisterous that the Village Council felt compelled to pass a ruling that he be arrested every time he caused a disturbance.

Another vote was taken on March 10, 1903, with 96 for license and 30 against. On May 1, Birkhofer renewed his license for $1,000. In July 1903, mention was made of Fred Wallin’s Saloon on Grant Street, now Brunswick. In fact, Wallin was fined $100 by Justice A.H. Wood, but the Village Council refunded the fine, saying the proceedings were not legal.

It appears that there was no vote in 1904, but in April two licenses were granted, at $600 apiece, to J.S. Williams and August Ohde. This apparently didn’t go over too well with Birkhofer, who appeared before the Village Council on May 6 to discuss his license. A 15 minute recess had to be called to give Mr. Ohde and Mr. Birkhofer time to settle their difficulties in regard to the building now occupied by Mr. Wallin. At the end of the year, a Mr. Amos T. Morton applied for a license to run a pool table in a location next to the saloon. He paid $5 per table, and could not serve any liquor.

In 1905, the tables turned with the vote 103 for license and 132 against. The liquor ordinance was revised on February 3. But what’s this? On that very day we see that August Ohde has passed away, and his widow Minna wishes to transfer his license to Mr. Morton. Also in 1905, Minneapolis declared that no liquor could be sold within the City limits on Sunday.

The wets were in business again in 1906. That May, John Sanberg and Fred Wallin applied for licenses at $600 apiece.

Again in 1907, the wets won out. In April, licenses were requested by Charles H. Perry and John Sandberg, this time at $700 apiece. Then there’s this curious entry: the Recorder was requested to write the Minneapolis Light and Power Co. and also the Birkhofer Brewing Co. in regard to changing the location of the saloon on Brownlow Ave. We know that George Werner’s saloon was on Brownlow across the street from the Methodist Church.  The photo at right is Werner's Saloon.

In 1908 the wind changed direction with 107 voting for license and 139 against. But from 1909 to 1915, each year the populace voted and each year they voted wet. In 1916 the wets lost, but only by 5 votes.

Back to 1909, applications for liquor licenses were submitted by William Krebs, John Hinkel, John Sandberg, George Williams Jr., and George A. Werner. Sandberg and Williams were at least initially denied. The cost of a license was $7 for one year. In June, the closing hour of saloons was moved from 11 pm to 10 pm except for Saturday, where it stayed at 11. In October, A.E. Blacktin was approved to run a pool room in the Walker Block. And here we have John Hinkle, proprietor of the Hinkle Hotel, 36th and Brunswick, requesting permission to make an office of the saloon on Sundays.

In 1910, the applications for liquor licenses submitted by George Werner, John Hinkle, and William Krebs were denied after pleas from Rev. R.S. Cross, G.M. Whipple, M.R. Martin, E.S. Hatch, F.L. Carter, T.H. Colwell, and H.L. Hamilton. There were also letters of protest from the Minnesota Assistant Attorney General and the Secretary of the Minnesota Anti-Saloon League, as well as letters from three attorneys. Krebs and Werner went on to get pool table permits.  In January 1911 L.L. Doc Brown was approved for a pool room.  This is a scene from Doc Brown's pool room.
 

1911 saw a reversal of fortune, with George Werner, John Sandberg, and John Hinkle approved for $700 liquor licenses. That October, John Sandberg’s license was transferred to Alfred Johnson. One interesting note in December – the Recorder was ordered to take the money from the liquor licenses and make it available for the maintenance of the State Inebriate Asylum.  At right is another shot of Werner's Saloon.

A big event in 1911 was when T.B. Walker's Methodist Church and George Werner’s saloon across the street caught fire and the volunteer firemen arrived and found them engulfed in flames. They knew they couldn't save the church, so they went across the street to try and save the saloon. The minister saw the firemen go over to save the saloon and he cried out "They're letting God's house burn and saving that Devil Establishment over there!" Or so the story goes.

1912 saw George Werner, Alfred Johnson, and John Hinkel approved for liquor licenses. Doc Brown also added a pool table. Tony Dangelo’s request for a license to put two pool tables in M. Dworksy’s building at 608 Highland was approved. Highland is now 36th.

In 1913, again Werner, Johnson, and Hinkel were awarded licenses for $700 each. Starting in 1913 until 1916, both Doc Brown and Elmer Whipps were on the permit to run three pool tables and sell cigarettes.

In 1914, Werner, Johnson, Hinkel, and a newcomer, Andrew Peterson, each paid $800 for a liquor license. But on the down side, the Village Marshall was ordered to remove all slot machines.

It’s 1915, and Andrew Linder has a permit to sell cigarettes. Werner, Johnson, and Hinkle have their cigarette permits.

In 1916, the PTA appeared before the Village Council to urge the closing of pool halls on Sunday. No action was recorded.

1917 sees the entry of Dutch Reider into the fray. In February he requested a permit to sell cigarettes. Then it was Reider and Whipps who were granted a permit to operate 3 pool tables next to the Waiting Station. Doc Brown is apparently now on his own, with a permit to operate three pocket billiard tables. Also in 1917, the Minnesota Public Safety Commission asked the Village Council to enact an ordinance covering their Order #14 pertaining to the regulation of pool halls and public dance halls. This ordinance came about in January 1918.

But in 1917 the populace voted once again, but this time the drys won by one vote.

Again in 1918, the drys won by three. But pool tables were still hot – Reider and Whipps paid $10 to run two pocket billiard tables in April 1918.

Also in 1918, the Village purchased a former saloon from a Mr. Carlson of the Minneapolis Brewing Company for $2,000. The building, which was operated as a saloon by George Haun at 36th between Brunswick and Dakota, became the new fire barn.

An ordinance passed on January 16, 1918, set poolroom hours at 8 am to 11 pm, closed on Sunday.

Dutch Reider and Elmer Whipps got a permit to sell cigarettes at the Waiting Station in March 1919, but their request to operate the pool hall on Sunday was refused. Again in 1920, Whipps and Reider operated pool tables in the south room of the Waiting Station.

Summing up the pre-prohibition saloons:

Conrad Birkhofer: 1902-1904
John Hinkel: 1909-1915
Alfred Johnson: 1911-1915 (permit transferred from Sanberg)
William Krebs: 1910
Morton: 1905 (permit transferred from Ohde)
August Ohde: 1904 (permit transferred to Morton 1905)
Charles Perry: 1907
Andrew Peterson: 1914
John Sanberg: 1906-1911 (transferred to Johnson)
Fred Wallin: 1903-1906
George Werner: 1910-1915
J.S. Williams: 1904

PROHIBITION

Two good books on Prohibition are Prohibition:  Thirteen Years That Changed America by Edward Behr (1996) and Last Call:  The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent (2010).

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917.  It was ratified by three fourths of the State Legislatures on January 16, 1919.  Section 1 reads:

"After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." 

Congress passed the Volstead Act, which was the enforcement legislation, in October 1919 over the veto of President Wilson. Andrew John Volstead, a Republican Congressman from Granite Falls, Minnesota, was more a facilitator of the law than the author - the architect was really Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League. The Volstead Act spelled out the specific prohibitions, definitions, exceptions, and penalties. 

The nation went dry overnight on January 16, 1920. Selling alcohol became a federal crime, although the 18th Amendment stipulated that "The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."  States passed their own prohibition laws, as apparently did cities and villages:  we find that the 1926 reconciliation of St. Louis Park ordinances (A-14) defined intoxicating liquor as "ethyl alcohol and any distilled, fermented, spiritous, vinous or malt liquor."

There were several exceptions outlined in the Volstead Act, including sacramental wine (leading to many a phony priest and rabbi), homemade cider, industrial alcohol, alcohol prescribed by a doctor (no more than a pint every ten days), flavoring extracts, syrups, and vinegar.  You could make "near beer" with less than .5 percent alcohol but you couldn't call it beer. 

Prohibition came about for several reasons, and several books have been written about it.  One impetus was the proliferation of saloons where men could go to get away from their families and potentially spend the rent money.  Women won the right to vote in 1920 and were becoming more and more influential in public opinion, and they wanted their men out of the saloons.

Second, there was the German factor.  The U.S. entered into World War I on April 6, 1917, and the country railed against anything German, which included beer.  What didn't help is that the brewers were overwhelmingly German and didn't repudiate the actions of Germany sufficiently. 

Another reason was racism; southerners wanted to keep alcohol away from blacks for fear they would get drunk and commit crimes against whites.  The Ku Klux Klan participated in this line of thought, although arguably they hated Catholics just as much as whites, and Catholics were notably "wet." 

Yet another factor was financial.  The Sixteenth Amendment was passed in 1913, allowing the Federal Government to collect income tax for the first time.  This meant that money lost from taxing liquor could be made up for with income taxes.  Needless to say, the big capitalists of the time did not appreciate this incursion into their fabulous incomes, and their opposition to prohibition was a major factor in getting it repealed.  Unfortunately, the return of liquor taxes did not make income taxes go away as they had hoped. 

And not to be forgotten was the skill and tenacity of Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League, who was able to influence elections in tight races. 


BOOTLEGGING

Bootleggers flourished during Prohibition, and the biggest was Isadore "Kid Cann" Blumenfeld (1900-1981), who led the "Minneapolis Combination." This benevolent group apparently not only supplied hooch locally, but ran it down to Iowa as well.

Outside of town in St. Louis Park, bootleggers were everywhere, selling "Old Popskull" at chicken shacks along Excelsior Blvd. Cottages along the creek were rented for weekend partying. 5 cents bought a regular Coke, 25 cents bought you a Coke with a little something extra. One could also patronize a "blind pig," which was just someone's house where alcohol was served.  (The origin of this nomenclature varies, but apparently once there was a woman who charged a dollar to let customers see her blind pig and they got a bottle of booze for free.)

Unregulated by the Government, the quality of the liquor was unpredictable and often dangerous. Ben Brown remembers that "there was much public drunkenness, and drinkers spiked their drinks far too heavily and became drunk in short order. It was very common to see men staggering down the street and sometimes fall and lay on the road or sidewalk. A pitiful sight to witness."

He also remembers when "one bootlegger just down the block from Doc Brown's Barber Shop and Pool Hall was raided several times by the Feds, but they never found anything. Turns out there was a rubber hose in the drain plug in the bathtub that led to a secret storage area underneath." A local plumber may have been involved with such riggings...

Doc Brown himself made home brew, and could always count on a ride home from his Barber Shop and Pool Hall from someone who would be invited to partake. One of his main drivers was said to be the Village Constable – perhaps his friend Elmer Whipps?

An unconfirmed rumor was that Dutch Reider had hot and cold running hooch in his bathroom, or so the neighborhood kids (and the police) liked to speculate, and he was raided several times. On July 19, 1929, he was accused of selling intoxicating liquor to one Ray Paulson. Officer Earl Sewall and four other officers executed the search warrant, arrested Dutch, and confiscated "a quantity of intoxicating liquor and one five Gallon jug." Dutch pleaded guilty to maintaining a nuisance, and was fined $100. Making moonshine was a Federal offense, and Dutch could have spent some time in the Federal penitentiary.

Another name associated with evil drink was W. Scott "Scotty" Hudson, a Village Character with No Visible Means Of Support (although phone books in the 30's listed him as a "lather" – like in the wall?)

Police confiscated three gallons of moonshine from Charles Stine in September 1929.  Mr. Stine was a "cripple," and as he couldn't move, he couldn't appear in court.  He also had no money.  He was referred to the Health Commission.

In February 1930, Henry Melius was caught with 1-1/2 gallons of wine, a whisky glass, and four one-pint bottles.  The address was 6325 Minnetonka Blvd., long the home of Beek's Pizza. He plead not guilty but was fined $50. 

1932 joke:  "Why did you name your baby Capone?"  "Because he has no regard for the dry law."

Mike Jennings, later of Jennings Tavern and Liquor Store, was said to be active in his line of work before 1933. One day it was reported that the Feds raided a house that Mike had rented from Jimmy Murphy for $75 a month, in a day when rents were typically $16. (This was the same Jimmy Murphy who had one of the first gas stations at Excelsior and Brookside, and who turned down the chance to buy all the swampland in Skunk Hollow for $100.) The raid yielded dozens of 5-gallon cans, which the Feds punctured with axes and poured out on the ground in the vacant lot next to the house.

Another story about Mike is that he was in cahoots with a depot agent in North Dakota. Liquor was shipped from Canada to a fictitious name in this North Dakota town. The depot agent would then auction off the "unclaimed" freight and Mike was always the buyer. Then drivers would deliver it to the Twin Cities. It turned out that Minnesota, home of Congressman Volstead, was particularly conducive to bootlegging, having a long border with Canada, and the nearby North Dakota border was easily crossed on old farm roads. My Canadian Uncle Alf says that Studebaker made a special car to accommodate the rumrunners. It was made with an extra heavy frame, had heavy-duty wheels and tires, was extra long, and had the most powerful engine made in the U.S. It was marketed as a seven passenger family car, with two folding seats installed in the very large floor space between the front and back seats. This car could transport a ton of hooch at high speed.

Mike Jennings was succeeded by his son Jim (James Demos?). Another son, who worked for Honeywell during the war, perished when his plane disappeared.

Then there's the story about a Saturday night "party" at one of the speakeasies and how the one-man Park Police force took the drunks home with him rather than take the time to haul them all the way to the Minneapolis hoosegow, as it was too far. St. Louis Park's two-cell jail was more of the "Mayberry" variety and couldn't possibly handle the volume.

Even the Town Band got carried away, it seems. An oft-told story concerns a 4th of July engagement in Chanhassen. Ben Brown remembers, "The band caught the train in St. Louis Park and rode straight to Chanhassen. One member couldn't make the train that morning, so he walked the railroad tracks all the way. He couldn't locate the band, so he inquired as to where they might be. The people of Chanhassen wanted to know why he wanted to find the band, and once they found out he was a member, they ran him out of town without so much as an explanation. He soon learned that the band had arrived early, got drunk, and raised particular hell so they were all run out of town. And then this poor guy arrives late after walking from St. Louis Park and asks, 'Where's the St. Louis Park Band?'"

Down in Minneapolis, the speakeasies were concentrated in the Gateway District, which was known for its wall-to-wall bars, liquor stores, and flop houses. They lasted until well into the 1950s, when Urban Renewal came along and leveled the area, displacing up to 3,000 "skid row bums," many of them WWII Veterans.

To try to attack the problem, Congress passed the Jones Act in 1925, which greatly increased the amounts of fines and jail time for violators of the Volstead Act.  But that was Federal law, at a time when states were repealing their own prohibition laws as unenforceable. 

REPEAL

Congress passed the Blaine Act which would repeal Prohibition in February 1933, but the 21st Amendment had to be ratified by the states, which took until December 5, 1933. Prohibition had lasted 13 years, five months, and nine days.  Meanwhile, on April 4, 1933, Congress passed the Cullen-Harrison Act (or the "beer bill") that declared that 3.2% beer was "non intoxicating."  Previously, beer with more than .5% had been considered intoxicating.  The 21st Amendment gave the regulation of alcohol back to the States.  Apparently things were a little fast and loose at first, judging by the ads placed by local drug stores and gas stations offering beer on tap.  Now there's a good idea.
 

In early 1934, Minnesota passed a bill giving localities the option of allowing the sale of liquor, but also instituting certain statewide restrictions such as dry Sundays.

Park’s new liquor ordinance “relating to the sale of non-intoxicating malt liquor or beverage” was passed on March 31, 1934. The Village Council approved nine licenses for "non-intoxicating liquor" (aka beer) right away, but "hard liquor" licenses had to wait until a Village general election was held in December 1934, when the electorate overwhelmingly went wet.

The Village liquor ordinance was passed on December 12, 1934, and the first license approved was to Harriet W. Jennings, wife of bootlegger Mike. Liquor licenses were approved for James A. Roach, Al Lovass, Walter G. Poirer, Bunny's, El Patio, and the Belmont Tavern, among others. Henry Allen ran a beer joint called “O’Neil One Acre,” location unknown but probably in connection with the riding stable.

Although St. Louis Park became known for its drinking establishments, especially along Excelsior Blvd., there were three council members – Torval Jorvig, Herman Bolmgren, and Joe Justad – who were teetotalers and did their darndest to keep down the number of liquor licenses.

The new liquor ordinance prohibited minors to be in beerhalls, but parents protested that their children could no longer work there, so each parent had to individually request permission for his child to work. On May 2, 1934, Mr. P.K. Anderson received permission from the Village Council for his daughter Evelyn to work at the restaurant.

A look at Justice Court records from 1935-36 reveals the following:

• On March 11, 1935, Mr. RM Johnson was fined $25 for "keeping and harboring a slot machine." 
   
• On May 29, 1935, Clifford Kitchen was fined $25 for keeping and maintaining a gambling device with money, a slot machine."  He was also fined $92 for keeping the place open after 2 am.  The address was that of Ann and Andy's Tavern on Wayzata Blvd.; at least it was in 1941.
   
• On June 7, 1935, James Murphy, 8800 Minnetonka Blvd. (not an address today) was fined $85 for keeping his establishment open after 2 am.
   
• On June 29, 1935, Nick Sateropolis of the El Patio Restaurant was caught selling liquor to minors as young as 9. He was also cited for keeping, storing, and selling fireworks without a license.  He was fined $100 or 60 days in jail.
   
• On August 8, 1935, JW Roach was cited for selling intoxicating liquor illegally at his tavern at 4315 Excelsior Blvd.  Sidney Moe was also cited.  They asked for a change of venue.
   
• On August 12, 1935, Emily Knoss from Hopkins was fined $25 for selling intoxicating liquor at 8550 Minnetonka Blvd.  The fine was suspended.
   
• In 1936, George Braumas, Secretary of the El Patio organization (3916 Excelsior Blvd.) plead not guilty of possessing 2 bottles of gin; he stated that they were his personal property.
  
  THE EXCELSIOR BLVD STRIP

By 1934, Excelsior Blvd. had about six or seven (or 14?) beer joints that were open 24 hours, and the noise made it impossible for nearby residents to sleep. One such resident was Morton Arneson (1893-1982), who had bought three acres on Excelsior Blvd. and Quentin Avenue and established his nursery business, the first of five such nurseries on the Boulevard, at 4951 Excelsior Blvd. in May 1929.

In his memoir, Arneson told of one particularly hot night when the racket was worse than ever; the band in the speakeasy across the street (probably Walt's Canteen, across Quentin) played three pieces on the banjo, one after another, and when they were through they started all over again. Finally, the family departed to a friend's house way out of town to get some sleep. He suspected the Kid Cann gang and the police (and possibly Mayor James H. Brown) of being in cahoots. Regardless, although the law that required establishments to close at midnight, it was not enforced, and those who complained were told to go back to Minneapolis if they didn't like it.

Ah, but an article dated February 6, 1942 tells us: “Council Serves Notice it will Tolerated No More Liquor Violations in Village.” The action came in the wake of a hearing where Henry Aretz was accused of selling alcohol at Bunny’s, although it was unclear whether the issue had to do with selling to a minor or selling on a Sunday. Many citizens gave their opinions both for and against yanking Bunnys’ license.

The liquor business was put under attack in October 1945 when the Committee for Tax Savings, led by Hugh McElroy, called for a municipal liquor store. The attack was rebuffed.

This reminds us of an undated flier issued by the Liquor Dealers’ Assn., Al Lovaas, Chairman. The flier was addressed to the Voters of the Village of St. Louis Park and made an impassioned plea to retain the status quo, citing revenue from the sales of liquor, dances license fees, pinball license fees and more. 67 people were employed full time, and 107 would be put out of work and on Relief if the bars were shut down. Tax revenue would be lost, and those who “want wines and liquors [will] step across the line to Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Edina, and Hopkins, where the same can be obtained.” The return of the Bootlegger was even listed as a possible threat if the legal, orderly, licensed and controlled conditions were eliminated. The barmen ultimately prevailed.

In 1947, Carl Reiss had to get Council permission to employ his son Richard, 20, in his bar and liquor store.

In 1947, pinball machines were supplied by the Automatic Piano Company and the Apex Amusement Company. In 1948, the Mercury Sales Co. and Coin-A-Matic Amusement Co. received licenses for pinball machines. They were operated at Al’s Bar, El Patio, Bunny’s, Reiss’s, Ray and Arnie’s, Lilac Lanes, and the Park Tavern.

In 1949, bars were closed on Sunday (except from 12-1am). They closed at 3pm on Memorial Day and 8 pm on election day. Off sale liquor could be sold from 8am to 8pm, except Saturday nights when they were open until 10 pm.

THE 1950s

The Village Council was just not awarding liquor licenses; in January 1952 they turned down 10 applications, five of which were for a liquor store at Miracle Mile. Those applicants were Ernest A. Clifford, Fred Gates, Gerald T. Kelly, Elwood L. Mason, and Robert M. Pratt.

When St. Louis Park became a charter city in 1955, under State law it was allowed to issue up to 15 on-sale liquor licenses, and increase from the village limit of 10 [5]. But thanks to the efforts of stalwart teetotaling councilmen Torval Jorvig, Joseph Justad, and H.J. Bolmgren, by 1959, the City had still only issued six. Mayor Ken Wolfe called for public meetings to investigate all applications, and as a result, a license was issued to Knollwood Liquors, the first of its kind in the rapidly-expanding part of town.

In 1955, a request for a license to peddle fruit house to house was denied.

On June 24, 1957, the Council passed a new ordinance regulating the spiking of drinks with alcoholic beverages in public places.

In 1960, an article appeared in a Minneapolis paper that said St. Louis Park’s “strict beer ordinance, passed just after prohibition ended” was up for discussion. The problem came up because bowling leagues were refusing to play at Texa-Tonka Lanes because no beer was served.
 

One reason for the success of the bars and restaurants along Excelsior Blvd. was a Minneapolis ordinance that did not permit liquor to be sold south of Franklin Avenue - the so-called "patrol limits ordinance."  Indeed only one liquor vendor existed in South Minneapolis, and that was the President Cafe, located across from the old Nicollet Ball Park.  Edina allowed no liquor, and the only place you could get it in Bloomington was the old Oxboro area south of 86th Street.  The best place to buy your liquor if you were a resident of South Minneapolis was St. Louis Park.  In addition, almost all of the Park establishments had combination licenses that allowed them to sale packaged liquor and sale by the drink.  The Foo Chu, Jennings, Bunny's, Al's and the El Patio, among others, had combination liquor licenses.

In 1968, the City experimented with special permits to sell drinks on Sunday.  The first applicants were McCarthy's, Lincoln Del West on Wayzata Blvd., the Royal Court at Knollwood, and George's in the Park.  They were approved in April 1968.

THE ADVENT OF DRUGS

As far back as 1926 there was an ordinance against "adulterated cigarettes," ie. those with something other than tobacco. 

In 1960 there were 12 narcotic law violations in the metropolitan area.  In 1961 there were none.  In 1967, there were 56 narcotic law violations in the metro area.  In 1968, there were over 65 violations; most were in Hennepin County. 

In 1965, the City Council passed three ordinances in response to the growing drug problem:

An ordinance to regulate the possession and purpose or delivery of barbiturates and other prohibited drugs

 

An ordinance regulating codeine cough syrup, glue sniffing, "pep pills," and barbituates.

An ordinance prohibiting the inhaling, breathing, or drinking of certain substances commonsly known as glue, and regulating the purchase, sale, and possession thereof.

An apparently unattributed quote in the February 6, 1969 Sun said that "the narcotic problem centered around the area on the near north side - the minority area.  In the past decade it spread to Cedar-Riverside - the West Bank.  In the past few years, this area has widened considerably, taking in a lot more territory."  Marijuana was apparently lumped in with the narcotics, and was by far the worst offender.  The city Juvenile Officer and the Principal downplayed the prevalence of drugs in St. Louis Park.  Other than a few cases of kids hopped up on goofballs, they weren't alarmed.

Informational films were shown to groups of concerned parents and their kids.  The film on pot featured Sonny Bono.  The usual warning that pot leads to stronger drugs was given by addicts at a rehabilitation center.  Another film was about LSD, and parents and kids were warned about "brain wave abnormalities and damage to human chromosomes."  

MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In 1970, George Faust's was accused of serving liquor to a 20-year-old without ID, which led to a car accident.  A special council meeting was held, and the restaurant's on-sale license was suspended for 10 days. 

In 1973, George Faust's was caught selling alcohol to a minor - a 20 year-old girl with two fake IDs.  He was given a 10-day suspension of his liquor license, but it was temporarily rescinded when he told the council that it would cost him $10,000 in business and force him to close down. 

In 1983, at the urging of Pillsbury, Park Council members re-wrote the City’s on-sale liquor license ordinance to allow one owner to have two liquor licenses as long as he built the second establishment. The owner of the Lincoln Del cried foul, as he had been trying to get liquor licenses for both of his existing restaurants for years.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.