City of Minneapolis moves to revoke Bullwinkle's liquor license

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Bullwinkle's, a popular pub near the University of Minnesota, might be forced to close after the City of Minneapolis has made a recommendation to revoke the establishment's liquor license.

Recently, there have been public safety concerns at Bullwinkle's, which is located in Minneapolis’ Seven Corners neighborhood, after two shootings this summer that left one young man dead.

In that incident, gunfire erupted following a concert inside a now shuttered, unlicensed venue known as the Ruby Lounge, which is right next door to Bullwinkle’s. City Hall records show the same family owns the entire block along Washington Avenue.

The violence led Minneapolis Police to increase its manpower in the area.

“In the case of Seven Corners, we’re able to add more resources: beat officers, night patrol, mobile cameras, undercover officers and really put resources in the area where they would do the most good,” said Sgt. Darcy Horn. 

As for Bullwinkle’s, city staff have leveled hundreds of dollars in fines for various violations, including bar management’s inability to control its customers. The revocation letter from the Licenses and Consumer Services Department states that those fines have gone unpaid. Also, the owners, who do business under the name of Star and RJS Investments, owe Hennepin County more than $25,000 in taxes.

Bullwinkle’s ownership ducked Fox 9’s questions about the liquor license Friday.

The owners now have a couple weeks to respond to the allegations, but for now the future of the long-time bar - popular with University of Minnesota students and area theater-goers - is very much up in the air.