Alibi Drinkery Co-Owner Charged With Smacking Jimmy John’s Worker After Companion Asked To Wear A Mask

By Deena Winter, the Minnesota Reformer

February 5, 2021

The co-owner of Alibi Drinkery, who made headlines for refusing to shutter his bar in compliance with state COVID-19 restrictions, was charged Thursday with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct after allegedly smacking a Jimmy John’s manager in Rosemount after his companion was asked to wear a mask.

Ricardo M. Baldazo, 39, of Prior Lake was charged with two counts of fifth-degree assault and one count of disorderly conduct, according to Rosemount Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom. He was not arrested but will instead receive a summons.

A video of the incident circulated on Facebook after the victim’s mother sought to identify the assailants. Baldazo was quickly identified by internet sleuths. He appeared to be with Lisa Monet Zarza, the co-owner of the bar.

Neither Baldazo nor Zarza could be reached for comment.

Baldazo already faces two counts of first-degree attempted murder and two counts of fifth-degree assault for allegedly firing off numerous rounds at police from his mother’s Burnsville house on Sept. 2. Baldazo posted $750,000 bail on Sept. 11. One of the conditions of his release is that he remain law-abiding, and Dahlstrom said Dakota County officials have been notified of the new charges, which could result in his bail being revoked.

Here’s what happened, according to Dahlstrom: Police were called to the Rosemount Jimmy John’s at 7:34 p.m. on Jan. 30 on a report that a customer hit the manager in the face because the manager told his companion to wear a mask.

A video of the incident showed a short woman with long, blond hair in the store without a mask talking to two employees, and then leaving. A man then arrives and gets into a confrontation with the worker. Police were unable to find the suspects at the scene, who were described by the workers as a “buff” male in a red mask and white T-shirt and white female with blond hair.

The dispatcher could hear the manager screaming in the background during the call, Dahlstrom said, and while police were en route, they were told the customers left in a white GMC Yukon.

The argument started over the woman not wearing a mask, Dahlstrom said, and eventually Baldazo reached across the cash register and struck the store manager with his hand.

Baldazo and Zarza have been tangling with state authorities for refusing to abide by the governor’s restrictions on bars and restaurants — in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 — from Nov. 20 to Jan. 11. Alibi Drinkery was one of a handful of businesses that repeatedly reopened in defiance of the order, beginning in mid-December. Zarza has said she stood up to Walz because her bar couldn’t afford to shut down for two months.

The Minnesota Department of Health, Department of Public Safety, and attorney general have taken regulatory actions against the bar, including a cease-and-desist order, operating license suspension, liquor license suspension and two lawsuits.

A Dakota County district judge found the bar owners in contempt of court on Jan. 7 for violating a Dec. 31 injunction and ordered the bar to pay $3,000 every day it opened illegally. After that, the bar owners relented until bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen at half capacity on Jan. 11.

Alibi’s attorney, Mike Padden, has argued the bar took a huge financial hit and may not survive the pandemic shutdown.

“We’re not saying that COVID isn’t real, we’re not saying that, but the implications of everything involved with COVID are so much more than just what’s being reported,” Zarza said in December.

Zarza has said she’s running for lieutenant governor with Josh Swedlund, a Belle Plaine sewer service company owner, who announced his campaign on Jan. 1.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..