City Council Lifts Edina's Happy Hour Ban

Edina residents looking to grab a cheap drink after work no longer need to leave the city's borders, as the City Council unanimously approved a modification to city code to allow happy hour at local restaurants.

The amendment removes part of the city ordinance governing prices of alcoholic beverages at Edina's restaurants. The city still prohibits any sort of games, schemes or 2-for-1 deals, but restaurants are now free to set their own price points for alcoholic beverages.

Edina is the last Minnesota city to permit happy hour at its restaurants, according to Council Member Josh Sprague. He has been a strong proponent of amending city code to allow happy hour, saying "times have changed" and it's time for Edina to "evolve."

"I feel that this is long overdue—driven not just by the businesses, but by the consumers," he said. "I'm tired of putting our businesses at a disadvantage and not giving consumers what they can responsibly have and request."

Edina Patch helped , with a . The city had been working with Hospitality Minnesota to craft the amendment language, basing it on similar ordinances in Indiana and Connecticut.

Kathy Iverson, Edina's chemical health specialist, worked with Police Chief Jeff Long, City Manager Scott Neal and City Clerk Deb Mangen to craft the amendment. Iverson said the greatest concern was ensuring discount pricing won't promote increased alcohol use among customers.

"Price can affect alcohol use, abuse and other consequences," Iverson said. "Alcohol is already cheap and is becoming cheaper. It's up to everyone in the community to support healthy norms around responsible use of alcohol."

co-owner David Burley was one of several local proponents of Edina lifting the happy hour ban. Burley said the restaurant is looking forward to offering reduced price alcoholic beverages from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"Happy-hour pricing means we will no longer be at a competitive disadvantage to restaurants in nearby cities and Edina will be much more appealing for those who just want to enjoy a less expensive drink with friends," Burley said in a release.

Sprague said he would like to see the city take things one step further, perhaps tweaking the city ordinance that governs Edina's 60-40 sales ratio relative to food and alcohol sales. Most surrounding communities have set their ratios at 50-50.

"It's another portion of our liquor policy that impacts how businesses operate and becomes salient as we talk about removing this pricing aspect," he said. 

Council member Joni Bennett nixed Sprague's proposal, saying she would prefer the city changes "one variable at a time" to better evaluate the impact on the local business community.

"Once we've had this change in effect for some length of time, then we can consider any potential changes," Bennett said.

Sprague eventually moved the Council schedule a future work session to talk about reevaluating the 60-40 rule, including looking at different more efficient reporting requirements. That motion carried unanimously.

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