Miami Beach approves a partial 2 a.m. alcohol ban. It puts a major nightclub at risk

Miami Beach officials approved a change to the city’s liquor sale hours in the South of Fifth neighborhood Wednesday, a move aimed at ending the party earlier at one of the premier nightclubs in South Beach.

Last call for alcohol would shift from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the southernmost part of the city, including at Story, a 27,000-square-foot, neon-lit club on Collins Avenue opened a decade ago by entrepreneur Dave Grutman.

But it may not be a done deal. Story, the sister venue of the famous LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau Hotel, is likely to file a legal challenge to prevent the change from taking effect, as it did successfully last March when Miami Beach sought to implement a rollback to 2 a.m. during spring break.

“We are disappointed with the Miami Beach commission’s arbitrary and capricious decision and we will be using all legal remedies in our power to protect our business,” a spokesperson for Story said in a statement.

Mickey Marrero, an attorney representing the club, said at Wednesday’s city commission meeting that a 2 a.m. alcohol cutoff could be a kiss of death for the business, which is open to the public on Friday and Saturday from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“You’re not only limiting hours, but for a business like that, you are ending that business,” Marrero said.

The move is the latest step in a years-long effort by Miami Beach to address complaints from residents about the party atmosphere in their community.

In a text message, Gelber told the Miami Herald the South of Fifth item is “a good step towards getting rid of the anything goes party, but only a single step.”

“Voters expect us to address the rest of South Beach,” he said.

The measure approved by the Miami Beach City Commission would exempt businesses that have a capacity of fewer than 100 people.

Commissioners passed the exemption to spare places like Ted’s Hideaway, a dive bar on 2nd Street that is popular among locals and has operated for 27 years. Tim Wilcox, a co-owner, said the bar does more than 60% of its business between 1 a..m. and 5 a.m.

“It doesn’t seem fair to throw everybody into the same boat,” he said.

The new city law will take effect in 10 days barring a court ruling to block it. Under the city’s current laws, South of Fifth businesses that had been approved as of 2016 to sell alcohol until 5 a.m. were allowed to keep doing so.

That includes about 15 businesses, city officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many, other than Story, would be forced to move to a 2 a.m. last call under the new rule.

Will the latest 2 a.m. attempt hold up?

Miami Beach has tried and failed multiple times in recent years to institute a 2 a.m. last call for alcohol in various parts of the city. In 2021, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ruled that a restriction in the South Beach entertainment district, which includes Ocean Drive, was “arbitrary” and targeted certain businesses.

Voters approved a non-binding referendum later that year expressing support for 2 a.m. rollbacks, but efforts to implement changes have stalled over the past year.

The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting originally included several items related to last call, including a proposal by Mayor Dan Gelber that would move it up to 2 a.m. for Ocean Drive.

But that item didn’t appear to have enough support — the five-sevenths vote that a judge has said is necessary to implement any alcohol sale changes — and it was postponed to a future meeting.

The proposal to move last call to 2 a.m. in the South of Fifth neighborhood with exceptions passed 5-2, with Commissioners Ricky Arriola and David Richardson opposed.

Several commissioners raised concerns that the city could be doomed to another expensive and unsuccessful legal battle. But 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 neighborhood is home to several tourist hot spots in addition to Story, including the Nikki Beach day club, Smith & Wollensky steakhouse and South Pointe Park.

But the area has become increasingly populated by high-rise condos. Residents there have called for less noise and partying near their homes.

Meanwhile on Ocean Drive — the epicenter of the South Beach party scene — there will still be a 5 a.m. alcohol curfew when a rush of spring break tourists arrives in just over a week.