Vote on St. Paul bar's license is delayed

A beleaguered St. Paul bar got a reprieve Wednesday when the City Council decided to postpone until next month a vote on revoking all of the bar's licenses.

The Moonlight Magic bar, at Western and Thomas Avenues, will likely learn its fate Aug. 4.

The city alleges the bar violated license conditions last December by serving to a minor and not checking the identification of all patrons.

The bar's owners appealed the revocation, and an administrative law judge heard the case. The judge said revocation is too harsh and suggested a "reasonable" fine and suspension of licenses.

The bar already had its liquor license suspended twice, for a total of 60 days, for alleged violations last year. A beating death and shootings happened outside Moonlight in 2009.

The liquor license also is used by Wilebski's Blues Saloon, a longtime blues bar that reopened earlier this year.

The council is not bound by the judge's recommendation. The city's Department of Safety and Inspections is still seeking revocation.

•The council imposed a $500 fine on the Gopher Bar, at E. Seventh and Wacouta Streets, for a November 2009 incident in which a drunken bartender allegedly assaulted a customer. According to an administrative law judge who heard the case after the bar owners appealed the city's fine, the bar failed to "maintain order and sobriety," as required by the city's legislative code. Cheri Kappas, a co-owner, said Wednesday that the city didn't provide her with information about the code and that the bar doesn't have a policy allowing employees "to get smashed."

•Council members postponed a decision on whether to approve a variance for a 60-foot-tall sign to be put up for a new home improvement store in the Midway area, near Interstate 94 and St. Anthony and Pascal Avenues. The council is expected to take up the matter in mid-August.