Toby Keith's Still Short of City Liquor Mark

The St. Louis Park bar and grill is not selling as much food as liquor.

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill in St. Louis Park is getting closer to hitting the city’s required 50-50 split between alcohol and food sales, but the establishment will likely go back on probation for not quite getting there yet. The bar and grill was first placed on probation last February, and that probation was extended for another six months in October. With Toby Keith's liquor license up for renewal this month, City Council members said Monday during a study session that they've seen enough progress to grant the license, but not enough to remove the probationary tag. The issue will be up for a formal vote next week. Toby Keith's was at 32 percent food sales when the problem first arose a year ago, but had that number up near …

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Story of the Year No. 1: Toby's Two-Step

St. Louis Park Patch reviews the year that was by counting down the most talked about local stories of 2011.

Editor's Note: With 2011 winding down, we're using this last week of the year to look back at the five stories that shaped St. Louis Park over the past 12 months and had people talking. Today, we look at story No. 1—Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill's trouble with the city's liquor ordinance. Did you know that St. Louis Park restaurants are required to sell at least as much food as booze? Most locals would have probably answered "no" to that question—that is until one of the city's largest establishments ran afoul of the code. In late February, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill was put on probation by City Council for selling a disproportionate amount of liquor. Over the next six months, the restaurant was tasked with getting its…

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Editor's Notebook

City's 50-50 Liquor Rule: Is It Fair?

St. Louis Park is one of several west metro cities that require restaurants to sell at least as much food as liquor.

With the city ordinance that requires establishments sell at least as much food as liquor coming to the forefront again earlier this week, it seems like a good time to re-examine the rule’s history—and to see what some of St. Louis Park's neighbors are doing. The ordinance dates back to 2000, and it was established because the council did not want free-standing bars—and the potential issues that come with them—in St. Louis Park. When Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill was put on probation in late February for not hitting the 50-50 mark—a probation that was extended on Monday—all six current council members, along with Mayor Jeff Jacobs, voiced some degree of support for the ordinance. “I think we (SLP) set the tone that this is not a …

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City to Toby Keith's: Show Us More

The St. Louis Park bar and grill has a probationary liquor license for not selling as much food as liquor.

Since being given a probationary liquor license in February, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill in St. Louis Park has made strides toward hitting the city’s required 50-50 split between alcohol and food sales. On Monday, however, the City Council deemed that they want to see more progress, extending the establishment’s probation until next February, when Toby Keith’s liquor license again comes up for renewal. If the bar and grill isn’t selling as much food as booze by then, the city could impose stricter penalties, ranging from fines to revoking the license altogether. “Anything this council wants done, we will do it,” Barry Birks, a traveling general manager with the company, told council on Monday. “We want to be a part of the …

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