Longer Liquor Store Hours Coming to Eagan?

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Should liquor stores be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. from Monday to Thursday?

That's the question facing the Eagan City Council, which took up the issue on Tuesday night during a special council meeting.

Under the current city regulations, liquor stores can be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. But the council is weighing an ordinance change that would permit stores to remain open two hours later on Monday through Thursday.

Minnesota laws revised in 2005 dictate that liquor stores can remain open until 10 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends. Many neighboring communities—including Burnsville, Lakeville and Apple Valley have ordinances that align with the 10 p.m. standard, City Clerk Christina Scippioni said.

This puts Eagan liquor stores at a competitive disadvantage, according to Owner Rob Chapman, who wrote a letter to the council expressing his support for the ordinance amendment allowing the city's liquor establishments to remain open later.

"I believe that this is an important step for Eagan liquor stores to be competitive in the market," Chapman wrote. "MGM is regularly turning away customers at 8 pm on Mon.-Thurs."

Chapman isn't the only store owner backing the proposed measure.

In April, the city conducted a survey of 16 off-sale liquor stores in the community. Of those, nine said they preferred a 10 p.m. closing time on weekdays, five said they preferred an 8 p.m. closing time and two didn't respond.

representative Dev Shrestha called the proposal a "no-brainer."

"Consumers will have the opportunity to spend their money in their city instead of nearby cities," Shrestha wrote in a letter supporting the proposed change. We as a business owner [sic] can also use more money to pay our bills and invest in other promotional areas."

But one other liquor store representative, Eagan resident and employee Steven Butler, voiced a less than positive opinion of the proposed change at the council meeting on Tuesday. The amendment, Butler said, would have a minimal impact on Cub's business, and may create additional public safety concerns.

“Do we actually really need those extra hours," Butler asked at the meeting. "If people haven’t got alcohol by then, do they really need to be out on the road at 10 p.m.?"

The council has not yet taken action on the proposed amendment, which will likely be put to a vote later this year, according to City Administrator Tom Hedges. At least two members of the council expressed a level of support for the proposed ordinance change.

"Generally speaking, I try to support ordinances that are the least restrictive, but still do the job," Eagan City Councilor Paul Bakken said. "It seems like these other communities have been operating without any issues or problems."