Hopkins Likely to Waive Food Sales Requirement for Taprooms

Live The Dream (LTD) Brewery may get the go-ahead to rely exclusively on local restaurants for food sales.

Currently, bars and taverns must have at least half of their sales come from food. City staff initially suggested that the required be lowered to 25 percent for breweries producing less than 3,500 barrels per year. The brewery owners countered with a 10 percent. But during a meeting Tuesday, co-owner Jeremy Hale asked the city to waive the mandate altogether.

LTD aims to provide a ‘”full experience” brewery that offers people something more than just a place to get a drink. But offering low-end bar food like frozen pizza and pretzels could “taint” the overall experience, Hale told council members.

“They might associate mediocre food with that experience,” he said.

Instead, they want to encourage people to bring in their own food—preferably from nearby restaurants. They plan to have menus available from restaurants that deliver or are within walking distance. As that policy suggests, Hale and his partner, Blake Verdon, are concentrating on helping existing businesses, not competing with them.

“Our focus is to work with everyone and get them excited. So: ‘How can we help you?’” Hale said in an interview last week with Patch.

Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie said he initially wasn’t in favor of dropping the food requirement. But he added that he came to appreciate the partnerships it could build with existing businesses and the way it allowed the city to help a prospective business without investing city resources.

“Let’s face it: This is a hot commodity at the moment,” he said. “It’s more of an experience than just a tap room—and yet it’s not a full bar, a full restaurant.”

The elected officials agreed. Councilwoman Molly Cummings said a 25 percent food requirement is a formidable obstacle, while a 10 percent requirement seems arbitrary. The 10 percent limit also doesn’t really address the reason the city had a food requirement in the first place—to discourage places where people just slam down drinks. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Gene Maxwell agreed with Hale that subpar food could hurt the quality atmosphere the brewery is trying to cultivate.

“I can surely live with waiving the food (requirement) if we get a good response (from other businesses),” he said.

The ordinance should be up for its first reading at the next City Council meeting and receive a second reading at the first meeting in August. In addition, the Zoning and Planning Commission will also review zoning rules and make a recommendation on where taprooms should be allowed. The council will then consider that recommendation at its first meeting in August.

When all is said and done, taprooms could be legal in Hopkins by the end of August.

The LTD owners hope to start selling beer in about a year. They are still deciding whether to set up shop in the old Jack Yee building at 1016 Mainstreet and the former Glenrose Floral space at Eighth and Mainstreet.