Miami Beach wants this nightclub to stop liquor sales at 2 a.m. The club is suing

Story nightclub is suing the city of Miami Beach to block an ordinance that would force it to stop liquor sales at 2 a.m. and potentially put its future in jeopardy.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by one of the premier nightclubs in South Beach calls the ordinance an example of “city government run amok,” citing statements by city officials at a commission meeting last Wednesday to make the case that Story is being illegally targeted.

“Last week, the City Commission put Story in its cross-hairs and, against the advice of its own counsel, the City committed to pulling the trigger in a matter of days,” the lawsuit says.

The measure approved last week, which would take effect this Sunday at 2 a.m., moves last call for alcohol up from 5 a.m. in the South of Fifth neighborhood — a response to residents who say the city should tamp down on noise and partying in the area.

The ordinance makes exceptions for establishments with a capacity of fewer than 100 people.

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A spokesperson for Story’s corporate entity, Amnesia International LLC, said in a statement that the club “is being singled out and targeted by this ordinance,” adding that it will “directly impact over 200 jobs in Miami Beach.”

A Miami Beach spokesperson could not immediately provide comment.

The city’s past attempts to impose a 2 a.m. liquor curfew in various parts of South Beach have each been shot down by judges, in part because they were found to target particular businesses. Story sued the city over a similar measure exactly one year before the suit filed Tuesday and was successful.

In 2021, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge similarly ruled that an alcohol restriction in the South Beach entertainment district was “arbitrary” and targeted certain businesses.

Tuesday’s lawsuit quotes City Attorney Rafael Paz, who advised elected officials last week that the city’s best shot at having a 2 a.m. ordinance hold up in court would be to enact a blanket neighborhood ban with no exceptions.

“To do this on the fly like this, with picking 100 or 140 or whatever the [minimum capacity] number is, that is exactly what courts would look upon unfavorably,” Paz told commissioners, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint also quotes Commissioner David Richardson, who said: “There are a couple ways this can go, and I start thinking through the strategy of accomplishing the goal if the real goal is getting rid of Story.”

And it quotes Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who noted that the exception for smaller businesses “covers certain local watering holes, and you eliminate Story, which, the nightclubs in the neighborhood, which seem to be the primary problem.”

About 15 businesses in the South of Fifth neighborhood have licenses to sell alcohol until 5 a.m., according to city officials. It isn’t clear how many, other than Story, would be forced to move to 2 a.m. under the new law.

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Story is a 27,000-square-foot, ne on-lit club opened a decade ago by entrepreneur Dave Grutman, and is the sister venue of the famous LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau Hotel.

The location at 136 Collins Avenue has served as a nightclub for about 30 years, previously under the names Amnesia and Opium.

The South of Fifth neighborhood is home to several other tourist hot spots, including the Nikki Beach day club and South Pointe Park. But the area has become increasingly populated by high-rise condos.

In November 2021, Miami Beach voters approved a non-binding referendum expressing support for 2 a.m. alcohol sale rollbacks. But efforts to implement changes have stalled over the past year.

Several commissioners raised concerns last week that the city could be doomed to another expensive and unsuccessful legal battle. Mayor Dan Gelber disagreed, saying an appellate court has yet to rule on whether the city has authority to control businesses’ liquor sale hours.

The South of Fifth ordinance addresses at least one issue courts have previously raised in striking down the city’s 2 a.m. attempts. It passed with five-sevenths support as a zoning change, rather than a general ordinance requiring a simple majority.