Frustrated by a spate of violence and drug overdoses at the Myth Live, Maplewood city leaders said Monday that the nightclub will be required to comply with a stricter set of rules to keep its liquor license.
Frustrated Maplewood leaders to lay out new rules for Myth nightclub
Failure to follow a new "operational action plan" could result in fines, suspension and revocation of the Myth's liquor license.
April 10, 2019 at 3:07AM
Police have responded to 262 calls for service at the club in the last two years, including a shooting, sexual assaults, brawls and 30 drug and alcohol overdoses.
On the evening of March 29, officers responded to reports of a man shot in the neck and two overdoses, prompting Mayor Marylee Abrams and the City Council to decide to take action.
"We are going to require you to do better," Abrams told club managers, adding pointedly that the police "are not your private security officers."
At Monday's meeting, the council ordered Police Chief Scott Nadeau to meet with club managers and draft an "operational action plan" that lays out new rules the club must follow. Failure to follow the plan could result in fines, suspension and revocation of the Myth's liquor license.
Club managers told the council they want to work with the city to improve safety. They called Myth a "regional asset" and noted that the venue brings 200,000 visitors to the city each year for concerts by nationally known acts.
"All the restaurants in the area are full when Myth has a show. So are the hotels," said Andrew Bardwell, the Myth's attorney. "It's our goal to have a partnership with the city."
Bardwell also said club managers are talking with a developer about building a hotel complex next door.
The Myth opened in 2005 in an old shoe store near the Maplewood Mall, closed four years later and then reopened in 2011. The club has weathered a series of ownership changes, and managers say they now operate exclusively as a concert venue.
Maplewood city leaders imposed an action plan on the now shuttered Stargate Nightclub in 2016 after violence and numerous police calls there. The Stargate's owner ultimately surrendered his liquor license in 2017.
Shannon Prather • 612-673-4804
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