A bar and restaurant in New Prague are being closed for a week by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison for opening against the state-ordered shutdown in December.
St. Patrick's Tavern posted to their Facebook page on Wednesday that they were told they must close from March 29th until April 4th. In the comments section, the tavern advertised that they would be open this weekend for business.
According to a complaint filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the bar opened up on December 18th and 19th against state order. The state received numerous complaints about the bar being open on the 18th. When both an employee of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Scott County Sheriff's office inspected the premises, they noticed that there were 150-200 cars in the parking lot and that people were jammed in the bar to the point that it was hard to move throughout the premises.
When the bar's owner, Diana Schoenbauer, was approached by a Scott County office and told that she was violated Executive Order 20-99, the complaint says that she told the officer she was aware and would continue the unlawful behavior. The next night, they re-opened and more complaints were filed against St. Patrick's.
According to the complaint, the state is looking for civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation.
News Talk 830 WCCO has reached out to St. Patrick's for comment but has not heard back.
