The City of Minneapolis scored a big win this week when it successfully pressured downtown club Bootleggers to surrender its liquor license.
But days later, mysterious ads for a new venue called "SkyBox Nightclub" have appeared in the window. Just what it means remains unclear.
City officials targeted Bootleggers, along with its neighbor Envy, for contributing to a rash of late-night club crime downtown. Envy has until the end of today to decide whether to surrender its license or leave it up to the City Council.
The city's business licensing chief, Grant Wilson, said in an e-mail that they are aware of the signs, but have not received any new license applications for that location. A new liquor license would need to be approved by the City Council.
Deepak Nath, a partner in the company that owns Bootleggers, has not returned messages seeking comment.
Toby Brill, the property owner of some buildings next to Bootleggers, said a liquor wholesaler sales representative told her that Nath is associated with the SkyBox venture. She encountered the sales representative while he was outside the club waiting to have a meeting with Nath about SkyBox.
UPDATE: Wilson learned Monday afternoon that Nath is in negotiations to sell the business to some local individuals. They have not applied for a liquor license at that location, however. Wilson added that "as far as I can tell," Nath is not involved in the new venture.
