Minneapolis council committee approves $50,000 fine, 3-day suspension for Surdyk's

A Minneapolis City Council committee on Tuesday approved a $50,000 fine and three-day liquor license suspension for Jim Surdyk after he opened the doors of his liquor and cheese shop on a Sunday in March, almost four months before the legal Sunday liquor sales takes effect.

Under the deal, which must get final approval by the City Council next week, Surdyk will pay the fine by May 31 and his northeast Minneapolis liquor store must be closed on three Sundays — July 2, 9 and 16.

Surdyk was not at the committee meeting, but his daughters, Melissa and Molly, were there. They declined to comment.

Dennis Johnson, Surdyk's lawyer, assured the council's Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee that Surdyk will stick to the deal.

"We've signed it, we're going to abide by it," Johnson said. "We understand it's something we're going to have to live with, make sure we pay and abide by the closings and try to move forward."

This was the third proposed punishment for the 83-year-old store after Surdyk served customers all day on Sunday, March 12, despite being asked twice by city officials to shut down.

Initially, the city slapped Surdyk with a $2,000 fine and ordered that his liquor license be revoked for the month of July, which the business said would have been a crippling penalty.

City staff then negotiated a new deal — 10-day suspension of Surdyk's liquor license and $6,000 fine — but the city's Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee, led by Council Member Lisa Goodman, rejected that deal for not being severe enough, and for punishing employees disproportionately.

The new deal was meant to make the punishment fall heaviest on Surdyk himself.

"We're at the point where we've struck the right balance," Council Member Jacob Frey said. "We're a city of laws, so a significant penalty is most definitely important when those laws are broken, but I believe it's the decisionmaker who should bear the penalty, not the employees."

According to state law, the city can revoke an establishment's liquor license or suspend it for up to 60 days if the business doesn't follow rules related to alcoholic beverages.

Adam Belz • 612-673-4405 Twitter: @adambelz