Mayor Frey orders new restrictions to reduce crowding at Minneapolis bars

Jul 30, 20200

Aaron Lavinsky - Star Tribune count

Tony Jaros River Garden owner Dan Jaros poured a Greenie, the Minneapolis establishment's signature drink, Wednesday night. Beginning Aug. 1, the city will no longer allow service or congregation at the bar in clubs and restaurants to help stem spread of the coronavirus.

After learning of coronavirus outbreaks tied to bars and nightclubs in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday ordered all establishments in the city to end their counter service to limit the spread of the infection.

Beginning Aug. 1, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, breweries, distilleries and more will have to close their indoor bar areas, according to Frey's latest emergency regulation. These places are still allowed to serve alcohol, but customers will no longer be able to sit, order or mingle at the bar.

"We are not closing bars as a total building," Frey said during a news conference Wednesday. "What we are closing is bar areas. That is service from the bar itself directly to patrons, who would otherwise come up to a bar in large numbers, pass their credit card over ... and receive some form of drink."

https://www.startribune.com/frey-orders-new-restrictions-to-reduce-crowding-at-mpls-bars/571947662/